Bitter Melon with Black Bean and Pork (苦瓜炒肉 Ku Gua Chao Rou)

Bitter melon (ku gua, 苦瓜, literally bitter cucumber) is one of the most distinctive and polarising ingredients in Chinese cooking — its intense, clean bitterness (from the compound momordicin) is considered a health food in Chinese medical tradition (believed to clear heat from the body and lower blood sugar). In Cantonese cooking, bitter melon is typically stir-fried with black beans and pork — the fermented black beans providing deep umami that complements the bitterness, and the pork fat providing richness that softens the edge of the bitter flavour.

• Filipino ampalaya with egg is a direct relative of the same bitter melon + umami preparation tradition
• Indian karela (bitter gourd) preparations share the same tolerance for and appreciation of bitterness as a flavour value