Bitter Melons
 

deleted

That's the truth of the matter. They are definitely not to my taste. I've had them a couple of times to my regret & the only way I'd eat any again is if it were in a situation where I had to in order to be polite. I'll stick with okra. :)

My Chinese wife cooks these all the time. Yummy! Stir fried with good lean port or beef, excellent! Definitely an acquired taste, most mainstream Americans I know can't deal with them.

Spices Galore
 

Since a proper choice of spices can set off any meal, which ones does she use in her stir fry??

I've not had the chance to cook much with it but have eaten it plenty of times, especially in Chinese resturants.

In Japan it's called Goya and is a speciality of Okinawa (and commony cooked with pork/tofu/spam as Chanpuru - google for recipes) - it's good with strong flavoured sake.

Appearance wise it's similar to the elaborate kind you tried. Try stir frying it with garlic, sesame oil and ... better still, here's a simple recipe http://vegetarianjapan.blogspot.com/2007/07/goya.html - add spam or pork if you like.

I'm a big fan of Goya crisps/chips which are sold in packets in Japanese convenience stores. I also like Bitter gourd/melon tea which is available in Chinese grocery stores - this is definitely an acquired taste!

Chanpuru, and those chips, never seem particularly bitter to me - I'd put them on a par with many beers as well as campari.

I've just had a thought, as artichokes have some property that makes bitter tastes sweet, perhaps pairing bitter melon with artichokes (or Cynar, the artichoke based aperatif) will help those who balk at bitterness.

I'd try one, but don't expect to like it. In CA, we had a sour plum tree. the kids loved em, but I didn't. Drying and salting didn't help either.

But those plums are 'sour' - which is a different taste entirely to 'bitter'.

How are you with the initial taste of artichokes? Or spinach, radicchio, very dark (bitter) chocolate, campari?

Hmmm. I don't feel the same way about the entire list.

I love spinach and dark chocolate.

I don't care at all for raw radicchio or campari. I think they're much more bitter than the other 2.

I know the plums are not bitter. I guess I was just drawing a parallel with other "extreme" flavors.

Enjoy but not in all forms...
 

My mom knows how to make it taste gooood...
She whips up various ways of cooking this bitter melon (BTW - it is called bitter gourd in India).

However, I am not a fan of it in the liquid form. I was once in this hotel in Bangalore whose restaurant fancies all these exotic drinks for the breakfast buffet. And, I am someone who will try most things once before I make up my mind.

It was the most bitter thing I ever imbibed - I could not handle it as a 'juice'. The waiter said it has medicinal value but I am not in the mood for a bitter pill.

I agree. Bitter melon can vary quite a lot. Generally, in the ways I've enjoyed it most, I would put it between spinach & radicchio (radicchio is too bitter for me too). To me, Goya seems best when it's had that 'bitter prickle' rounded off by an umami taste.

Sesame oil has a lot of umami (or brings it out), so does fermented black bean sauce and fish sauce. I'd suggest trying bitter melon with umami rich ingredients to see if you could acquire a taste for it.

Have you tried bitter gourd as a tea? The ones I've had weren't too bitter and had a pleasant unctuousness (oiliness?) to them.

deleted

I've never heard of dinosaur kale (I'm a big fan of cavolo nero though) so I'll try and learn more.

I started a thread in the Japan forum about pickling Turnip greens (Nozawana) - delicious! They even had a hint of a wasabi flavour.

I know this as kerala the indian name - have a good recipe for a curry of bitter melon if anyone is interested - it also calls for soaking in salt before cooking.

deleted