Jul 6, 2025

Bitter Gourd Cooked With Chinese Pickled Cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜

Westerners might not know about this dish, but it's one of the common food that will show up on Taiwanese's dining table. The basic idea is to cook the bitter gourd with some sort of Chinese canned pickled melon. However, I used pickled cucumber instead, which comes with denser taste plus a bit sweeter touch. 


The final flavor is somewhat similar doesn't matter you use pickled melon or pickled cucumber, just look for Chinese canned version, and you'll get the correct taste in the end.


Bitter gourd cooked with Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜 - 


Bitter gourd cooked with Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜


Ingredients?

  • 1 white bitter gourd
  • 4 medium pieces Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜
  • 4 tablespoons juice of Chinese pickled cucumber
  • 1 small bundle cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or other preferred cooking oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon rock sugar
  • Some salt (optional)


How?

Cut the bitter gourd in half lengthwise them scrape off the seeds and membrane. Slice the bitter gourd to rectangular chunks. Chop the cilantro and set aside for later use.


Prepped white bitter gourd

Into the pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil or other preferred cooking oil. We are using a bit more oil to semi-sear and semi-fried the bitter gourd, so don't go too easy with the amount of oil used.


Switch to medium heat and wait till the oil gets hot. Add in the bitter gourd and sear till slightly golden on some sides.


Semi-seared semi-fried bitter gourd

Add in 4 medium pieces of Chinese pickled cucumber or pickled melon along with 4 tablespoons of that canned juice. Also add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. 


Adjust the heat so the whole thing can keep at a medium bubbling stage. Cook till the sauce has been reduced a little. You can break the pickled cucumber to smaller pieces while cooking down the sauce. 


Cooking bitter gourd with Chinese seasonings

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of rock sugar. Cook till the sugar has been fully dissolved. Remember to flip the bitter gourd once a while to ensure even cooking. 


Taste and adjust if needed. In the case of not salty enough, add salt instead of soy sauce.


Plate and garnish with chopped cilantro.


Bitter gourd cooked with Chinese pickled cucumber 壺底油瓜煮苦瓜

I used white bitter gourd here because the vendor told me it's less bitter compared to the green varieties. However, it's up to you on the bitterness level. On top of that though, I think white bitter gourd looks better when cooked in dark sauce. That brownish color literally translate the taste as more flavorful in my head. 


Extended reading:


Jul 1, 2025

Kinpira Gobo きんぴらごぼう (Burdock Root Cooked In Japanese Seasonings)

Some people like to soak the gobo, that's burdock root in Japanese, in water once peeled and cut. By doing so, it can help the burdock root from turning to darker color. But please don't bother for this recipe, especially we are going to cook the burdock root in soy sauce, that means eventually the whole thing will get a brownish hue in the end anyways.


Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう - 


Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう


Ingredients?

  • 1 medium burdock root
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 300 grams ground pork
  • 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sake (Japanese rice cooking wine)
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar


How?

Peel and cut the burdock root to strips, just like julienne it. Peel and cut the carrot to strips too. I used a grater instead for the carrot to save more time and energy, not a fan of prepping carrot with knife here.


Grating carrot

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to the pan and switch to medium heat. Once warmed up, add in ground pork and stir-fry till it changes to somewhat white color, like 90% cooked-through.


Stir-frying ground pork in sesame oil

Add in burdock root strips and carrot strips. Mix once a while and cook for about 5 minutes.


Making kinpira gobo, which is burdock root cooked in Japanese seasonings

Add in the main seasonings for this classic Japanese recipe, which is soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. The ratio is about 2:1:1:1, but I did use more sugar for a sweeter taste. This dish is supposed to be on a slightly sweeter side in case you never tried it before.


Stir-fry and cook for another 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. It should be somewhat sweet and savory to the taste.


Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう

Towards the end, mix in toasted white sesame seeds. Scoop to serving container and enjoy.


Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう

This dish can even served cold or under room temperature. 


Kinpira gobo きんぴらごぼう

When traveling in Japan, sometimes you'll find kinpira gobo as one of the side dishes in a bento box. In which the bento is usually served cold or under room temperature, since Japanese don't necessarily heat up their bento boxes most of the time. So to enjoy this dish cold, no problem.


Other recipes using burdock root: