To combat bitterness I add about 2 teaspoons sugar to the blanching water too. Then also add more sugar to the corn starch slurry , try perhaps 1/2 teaspoon. As for the use of baking soda, I use about a heaping teaspoon in 3 cups water and marinate the sliced beef for 15 min. Then rinse the beef thoroughly under running water with a strainer. Now use this tenderized beef in the recipe.
Bitter melon is bitter so following the prep instructions are important to help reduce the bitterness. I heard bitter melon is good for diabetics which is why I tried this recipe. It was easy and quite delicious. I didn't have any beef but used some boneless pork sirloin chops. I followed the same marinade instructions including the baking soda which helps tenderize the meat and the recipe turned out perfect.
Overall, this recipe is very delicious! I’m hoping the author of recipe can add a review (give the recipe 5 stars) to explain how much salt to add for water bath method and what the baking soda is for. My husband actually liked the bitter melon prepared this way with the black bean sauce (only his 2nd time trying it; I grew up with it and have acquired taste for it). For those who don’t know, bitter melon (or gourd) is bitter! Do not skip step one because the salt is going to reduce the level of bitterness, but step 1 was not very clear for me—I have no idea how to make salted water for an ice bath—how much salt to water? :( There are a few methods to reduce bitterness. Simply, parboiling does not reduce the bitter enough for us. I halved the bitter melon, remove seeds, slice, and place slices in colander (over a bowl). Added 1-2 tsp kosher salt over the slices and combined with hands, set aside for 1 hour. You need to use Kosher or Sea Salt…NOT table salt. Rinse and drain off excess water. Prepare your ice water bath. Blanch the bitter melon slices in lightly salted water for 1 minute and place in ice water bath to stop further cooking. Continue with recipe. I also omitted the baking soda because I couldn’t figure out the need for it, but I suspect it further reduces bitterness. I had 2 melons, hence doubled the recipe. I felt the amount of water was a little too much, but hey…more sauce is always good! I loved this recipe and will be making it again!
I would give this recipe a 4.5 if I could. I'm asian and a huge snob when it comes to cooking with bitter melon. A recipe like this found on allrecipes.com is uncommon and that's probably why there's only 3 reviews. I decided to try it anyway. It's very similar to how the generations in my family cooks with bitter melon and black bean sauce. However it's a really good recipe and I've used it a few times. You must be fond of bitter melon to want to make this. I loved it!! Thanks for sharing:)
