“Sour, sweet, bitter, pungent: all must be tasted.” – Chinese proverb
It’s still summer time here in San Diego, and we’re in the middle of those few weeks of the year when it gets really hot and I wish I had air conditioning at my house! In the summer, Chinese medicine food therapy recommends that we eat foods that have a cooling effect and clear heat from the body. Foods that have a cold temperature or ice cold drinks can be a cold shock to your digestive system and can be harder to digest. If you have bloating, fatigue, or digestive upset after eating cold, raw foods or cold drinks, try eating cooling foods such as watermelon, mint, cucumbers, celery, mung beans, green tea, or today’s ingredient – bitter melon!
Okay, I know, it doesn’t sound tasty, who wants to eat something bitter?! Bitter melon is one of the few dishes that I did not like when I was growing up. Even though my grandma would say it was good for my digestion, the bitter taste was just too strong and too bitter. As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve acquired a taste for bitter melon, enjoying it in stir fry with pork or fish and black bean sauce.
I recently read the Ali Wong book Dear Girls (a heartwarming and hilarious read, highly recommend!), and when she mentioned that fillet of rock cod with bitter melon was one of her family’s go-to dishes to order when they went out for Chinese food, I knew I had to make this dish at home for myself.
The bitter flavor is often overlooked and underused these days, but I encourage you to give it a try. Using the Chinese medicine principle of balancing the five tastes in your food, bitter melon is a nice example of the bitter taste. Overall, this dish is a nice balance of bitter, salty, and pungent tastes. Bitter melon’s Chinese medicine properties also make this dish especially helpful for those with diabetes, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, or skin rashes.
Also, don’t be scared off by the black bean sauce! It’s a pungent and salty sauce that pairs really well with meats and seafood, and is a bold enough flavor to complement the bitter melon. A little goes a long way, so you don’t need a lot to make this dish taste really good. I used Lee Kum Kee’s Black Bean Garlic Sauce in this recipe since it’s what I had in my fridge. This brand or similar brands can be found at most Asian supermarkets, online, or sometimes in the “Asian food” section of Vons or other mainstream supermarkets.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Ingredient Breakdown
Bitter melon is bitter and cold, and enters the Stomach, Heart and Liver channels to clear heat and alleviate thirst that is due to Summer Heat. It can also treat redness and pain in the eyes. It is high in Vitamin C, and “scientific studies have suggested that bitter melon contains a compound that moderates blood sugar, helping to control type 2 diabetes” (Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen).
**Really important – avoid eating bitter melon if you are trying to conceive!
Fish is warm and sweet, and is used to tonify Qi, strengthen the Spleen and remove dampness.
Garlic has antibacterial properties and can help boost the immune system and benefit digestion.
Ginger is considered warm and acrid, and is used to alleviate stomach upset, nausea or motion sickness. It is also great to take when you’re coming down with a cold, and helps to warm the lungs and stop coughing.
Green onion is also a warm and pungent herb that is commonly used with ginger to treat the common cold.
Black bean sauce (made from fermented black soybeans) is sweet and neutral in temperature, and is used to strengthen the Spleen, nourish Kidney Yin and resolve dampness.
Ingredients
Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as a side dish
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 medium sized bitter melon
1 (2 inch) piece of ginger, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 lb white fish (tilapia, cod, mahi mahi, or other firm white fish), cut into 1 inch chunks
2-3 tablespoons prepared black bean sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee’s Black Bean Garlic Sauce)
1-2 stalks green onion, chopped (about 1-2 tablespoons)
Directions
Cut the ends off of the bitter melon and cut in half lengthwise (do not peel). Scoop out the seeds and pith from the center with a spoon. Slice the bitter melon into ¼ inch pieces.
[Optional step to mellow out and reduce the bitter flavor] Bring a medium soup pot of water up to a boil. When water is boiling, add chopped bitter melon and let boil for about 2-3 minutes. Drain the water out and set the melon aside.
In a separate wok or large skillet pan, heat the sesame oil until the pan is hot. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the bitter melon and stir fry for 2 minutes, until it’s starting to soften. Add the fish and stir fry until the fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes, taking care to gently flip the fish so it doesn’t break up into really small pieces (see notes below). Add the black bean sauce and green onion and stir to combine. Serve hot with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy!
Substitutions / Alterations / Notes
You can use any type of firm fish you want, like cod, mahi mahi, tilapia, or salmon. I would not recommend using sole fillets though, which is what I used in the photos. Since the sole fillets were so thin, it was hard to keep them from falling apart during stir frying, and it ended up being kind of mushy – still tasty, but not the texture I was going for! Alternatively, you can bake the fish in the oven and stir fry the bitter melon and black bean sauce separately.
References
Bensky, D., Clavey, S., Stoger, E., & Gamble, A. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd Edition. Seattle, WA: Eastland Press, Inc.
Pitchford, Paul. (2002). Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition, 3rd Edition. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Wang, Y., Sheir, W., & Ono, M. (2010). Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East for Health, Healing, and Long Life. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.