Stir-Fried Lamb with Bitter Melon or Green Peppers and Black Beans

Name: Stir-Fried Lamb with Bitter Melon or Green Peppers and Black Beans
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 cup fermented black beans; 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine, dry sherry, sake, or white wine; 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed; 3 or 4 green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced, or 2 or 3 bitter melons, prepared as described in the headnote; 1 pound boneless lamb, from the leg or shoulder, cut into thin slices; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger; 1/3 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 160), or water; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/2 cup roughly chopped scallion

December 14, 2011

Bitter melon is a cucurbit; so is cucumber, and they resemble one another. (But so is a cantaloupe, so the melon reference isn’t far off.) Its flavor, though, is akin to that of green peppers, which are much easier to find. Serve this over white rice. If you have access to bitter melons, by all means use them; cut them in half the long way, then scoop out the seeds and fluffy insides, which are like those found in overripe zucchini, before chopping and proceeding as directed. Fermented black beans are available at most Asian markets and many supermarkets (see page 207). The lamb will be easier to slice if you freeze it for 30 minutes or so.

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