Here is a simple stir-fry Vietnamese bitter melon and eggs recipe. Perfect for a busy weeknight dish to eat with rice and a meat dish. Using eggs and bitter melon this can be whipped up while your rice is cooking. Let’s check out this recipe!
What is bitter melon?
I grew up eating bitter melon, but I was never a fan of it until my palate matured. As a child taste played a big factor in whether I would eat it or not. Or how much I would eat. Maybe it’s genetics because I couldn’t eat this growing up. It wasn’t until my early twenties that this bitter melon aka gourd was enjoyable for me.
Where to buy bitter melon?
I am fortunate enough that a handful of my aunts grow these in their gardens. They are easy to grow and generally yield many melons per growing season. It’s well known amongst my aunts that I love eating them. When my mom comes and visits I will always get 2-3 of these to last me for the week.
However, they are commonly found at your Asian supermarkets. I’ve even seen them at regular supermarkets now where there is a big population of the southeast or east Asian population.
How to eat?
It’s common in east Asian cuisine to stir fry or make soup. Stir fry with eggs is the perfect pairing for this to eat with a bowl of rice.
The other way I enjoy is stuffing it will ground pork and cooking it in pork neck broth. This will be a recipe for another day.
Is bitter melon good for you?
My mom always told me to eat bitter melon. It was a common dish made for dinner. Now in hindsight, mom just knows that it has many health benefits although she never had time to sit down and explain.
Its common to use bitter melon for cholesterol, fat loss and diabetes. It contains a chemical that acts similar to insulin. It helps regulate blood sugar levels. Healthline goes into more detail about all the beneficial nutrients it offers, jam-packed with vitamin C and vitamin A to help prevent disease, bone formation and promote healthy skin.
How to prepare the bitter melon and take out the bitterness?
This is a completely optional step and can help those who are trying to learn to eat bitter melon. Salting and letting it sit for 30 minutes can help remove some of the bitterness. Sometimes you will get some very bitter melon or its more mild. It’s never the same. It may be due to the way it was grown that causes the bitter melon to be super bitter.
If you are tight on time and don’t mind the bitterness you can skip this step and not salt to draw out the bitterness. However, add an extra minute to the time to soften the melon up when you are stir-frying it.
Ingredients and substitute for Vietnamese bitter melon and eggs
Egg – This recipe uses eggs. However, if you have available salted eggs this is also an option to give the stir fry another level of flavour from the salted egg.
Bitter melon – There is no other alternative or substitute. This is a bitter melon recipe after all. But if you decide you want to make this stir fry the closest alternative would be winter melon. Winter melon releases more liquid when stir-fried so I would suggest cooking it and pouring out any excess liquid before tossing in the egg.
Fish sauce – An alternative to fish sauce is using a teaspoon of soy sauce.
Step-by-step instructions
– Step 1 – Wash and rinse the bitter melon. Cut vertically, lengthwise and using a spoon scrap the seeds
– Step 2 – Throw all the sliced bitter melon into a colander and salt generously. I add about 1 tbsp and mix it up well. Let it sit for 30 minutes to draw out all the liquid.
– Step 3 – After 30 minutes rinse thoroughly and drain excess water. Make sure to really clean and rinse off the salt. Otherwise, the salt will make the dish very salty and sometimes even more bitter.
– Step 4 – In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and add the fish sauce. Whisk until the egg has a nice yellow-orange colour and it’s well mixed.
– Step 5 – Using a medium pan heat up with oil. Once hot enough cook the eggs. I would let the eggs cook untouched for about 30 seconds. And flip it over. This is to keep the eggs from being over scrambled. Set the eggs aside.
– Step 6 – Add the rest of the oil and stir fry the garlic until lightly golden brown. Toss in the bitter melon and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt and pepper and mix.
– Step 7 – Add the eggs back to the pan, and mix just until they’re cooked through. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
What to do with the seeds and is the white spongey part edible?
I am no green thumb, but the seeds can be saved and used to grow your own bitter melon plant in your garden.
The white spongey part inside I will discard. I’ve never tasted it before and used it in my cooking.
Storing leftovers
You can store this in a container and refrigerate it for up to three days. However, I do not recommend freezing this. The bitter melon doesn’t’ freeze very well.
If you made this recipe I would love to see it!
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Stir-Fry Vietnamese Bitter Melon and Eggs (Khổ Qua Xào Trứng)
Ingredients
- 1 bitter melon
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Wash and rinse the bitter melon. Cut vertically, lengthwise and using a spoon scrap the seeds and the white spongey insides. Once they have been cleaned slice thinly.
- Throw all the sliced bitter melon into a colander and salt generously. I add about 1 tbsp and mix it up well. Let it sit for 30 minutes to draw out all the liquid.
- After 30 minutes rinse thoroughly and drain excess water. Make sure to really clean and rinse off the salt. Otherwise, the salt will make the dish very salty and sometimes even more bitter.
- In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and add the fish sauce. Whisk until the egg has a nice yellow-orange colour and it's well mixed.
- Using a medium pan heat up with oil. Once hot enough cook the eggs. I would let the eggs cook untouched for about 30 seconds. And flip it over. This is to keep the eggs from being over scrambled. Set the eggs aside.
- Add the rest of the oil and stir fry the garlic until lightly golden brown. Toss in the bitter melon and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt and pepper and mix.
- Add the eggs back to the pan, and mix just until they’re cooked through. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
