Dinner · 25 min · chinese

Bitter Melon with Black Beans

Chinese flavors, weeknight effort. Bitter melon meets fermented black beans in a 25-minute dinner worth keeping in rotation. The macros do the talking: 11g protein, 13g carbs, and 3g fat in every 117-calorie serving. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Bitter melon
• 2 tbsp Fermented black beans
• 0.25 lb Ground pork
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 Dried chiles
• 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 0.25 cup Chicken stock

Steps

1. Halve the bitter melons, scoop out the pith and seeds, and slice 1/4-inch thick. Blanch 1 minute in salted water to tame the bitterness — it should still taste like itself, just less angry.
2. Brown the pork in a hot wok, then fry the black beans, garlic, and chiles 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add the bitter melon with the wine, soy, sugar, and stock. Toss 3 minutes until the melon is tender-crisp and glossed with sauce.
4. Taste: the bitterness should be present but balanced by the salty-sweet black beans. Adjust with a pinch more sugar if needed.
5. Serve over rice. This is a grown-up dish — bitter, funky, and completely addictive once it clicks.

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