Chinese Bitter Melon

HOW TO PICK FRESH FRESH CHINESE BITTER MELON

LOOK FOR THESE:

• Uglier the better! It means with more raised and big bumps (You should be able to feel most of the bumps when you run your hand across the surface.)
• With a vibrant green throughout
• Feel firm when gently squeezed

AVOID THESE:

• With small and flat bumps
• With a yellowish green color throughout
• Free of blemishes
• Free of soft or brown spots

HOW TO STORE FRESH CHINESE BITTER MELON

IN THE FRIDGE: When wrapped in a paper towel, or placed in a paper bag in the crisper drawer, they can last for about 4 days.

HOW TO PREPARE FRESH CHINESE BITTER MELON

For bitter melons, closer to the core of the melon, the bitter it tastes, and softer the texture. If you would like to get rid of some of the bitterness, there are a few ways you can try. You can use one of the three, or combinations of these techniques:

• Remove the core and the seeds
• Use salt to squeeze out a lot of the liquids from the bitter melon
• Blanch the chopped bitter melons before cooking

FUN TO KNOW ABOUT CHINESE BITTER MELON
Bitter melon, when translated in Chinese is 苦瓜. 苦 means bitter. 瓜 means squash. It is a very popular vegetables in the Summertime for its "cooling" quality.

In China, if you are being called 苦瓜, it means you always look depressed, bitter and miserable, basically lack of happiness. So, not a good nick name.