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Am I the only one who thought this would be used for some “unconventional” cuisine before opening the link?

by k_sze 4y ago

sk0g 4y ago
Oh lord that reminded me, when I was in India for a bit people kept trying to convince me to eat this horrible vegetable called bitter gourd, it just tastes like battery acid no matter how it was prepared! I forgot all about that till I tasted a Switch cartridge, and then till I read your comment! If you've ever tried Vegemite by the spoonful, the vegetable is a whole lot worse still.
- k_sze 4y ago
  I'm Chinese and I love bitter gourd. It's one of our staple vegetables and we have multiple cultivars of it for different levels of bitterness, crunchiness, etc. Some dishes we often make: bitter gourd slices stir-fried with beef, shrimps, or scrambled egg. Of course, I suppose Bitrex is a lot bitterer than the bitterest bitter gourd.
  - sk0g 4y ago
    Oh interesting, could you recommend any dishes that use it well? There's quite a sizable Chinese population where I live, so I can probably find it prepared authentically enough :) To be honest I never saw much effort going into preparing it. It was just sliced, hollowed out, and then fried. I'm not sure if there's a way to tone down the bitterness, but the only justification for its inclusion I got was "it's healthy" or "it's an antioxidant".
    - k_sze 4y ago
      > I'm not sure if there's a way to tone down the bitterness The bitterness is the whole point. It’s an acquired tasted, just like beer. Once you get used to it, you understand how it makes your meal as a whole feel less greasy and less cloying. If your really want, you can tone down the bitterness by lightly dry-frying the bitter gourd slices. The stir-fry with scrambled eggs is a home classic, Cantonese cooks can usually make it. Black fermented soybeans is often added to the stir-fry with beef slices. Bitter gourd can also be used to cook soup, with pork bones and soybeans. It can also be hollowed out, filled with seasoned minced pork, and then steamed as a type of dim sum.

Am I the only one who thought this would be used for some “unconventional” cuisine before opening the link?

by k_sze 4y ago

Am I the only one who thought this would be used for some “unconventional” cuisine before opening the link?

sk0g 4y ago

Oh lord that reminded me, when I was in India for a bit people kept trying to convince me to eat this horrible vegetable called bitter gourd, it just tastes like battery acid no matter how it was prepared! I forgot all about that till I tasted a Switch cartridge, and then till I read your comment! If you've ever tried Vegemite by the spoonful, the vegetable is a whole lot worse still.

k_sze 4y ago
I'm Chinese and I love bitter gourd. It's one of our staple vegetables and we have multiple cultivars of it for different levels of bitterness, crunchiness, etc. Some dishes we often make: bitter gourd slices stir-fried with beef, shrimps, or scrambled egg. Of course, I suppose Bitrex is a lot bitterer than the bitterest bitter gourd.
- sk0g 4y ago
  Oh interesting, could you recommend any dishes that use it well? There's quite a sizable Chinese population where I live, so I can probably find it prepared authentically enough :) To be honest I never saw much effort going into preparing it. It was just sliced, hollowed out, and then fried. I'm not sure if there's a way to tone down the bitterness, but the only justification for its inclusion I got was "it's healthy" or "it's an antioxidant".
  - k_sze 4y ago
    > I'm not sure if there's a way to tone down the bitterness The bitterness is the whole point. It’s an acquired tasted, just like beer. Once you get used to it, you understand how it makes your meal as a whole feel less greasy and less cloying. If your really want, you can tone down the bitterness by lightly dry-frying the bitter gourd slices. The stir-fry with scrambled eggs is a home classic, Cantonese cooks can usually make it. Black fermented soybeans is often added to the stir-fry with beef slices. Bitter gourd can also be used to cook soup, with pork bones and soybeans. It can also be hollowed out, filled with seasoned minced pork, and then steamed as a type of dim sum.