Bean Paste Bitter Gourd with Pork Bones

This is my first time cooking 苦瓜Read online that I have to prepare it by first cutting it in half (skin intact), scouping out all the seeds and white pith, then slicing thinly. Salt and leave for 5 to 10 mins. Finally, squeeze out the juice to extract the bitterness.

I didn't have black beans, the original ingredient for this dish, so I used tau cheow instead.

Ingredients

1 packet of pork bones (about 250 to 300g). You can also use spare ribs

1 bitter gourd, prepared as above

2 tbsp tau cheow (you can use slightly less as this is rather salty)

1 tbsp chinese rice wine

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame seed oil

1 red onion or 2 small shallots

1 clove garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

Method

1) Marinate the pork bones with the tau cheow, rice wine, sugar, and sesame seed oil. Prepare the bitter gourd. After squeezing out the juice, pat the gourd dry with a kitchen towel.

2) In a saucepan, fry the onion and garlic. Brown the pork bones until 1/3 cooked, which will take about 5 minutes.

3) Add the bitter gourd and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 to 1.5 cups of water to nearly cover the pork bones.

4) Bring it up to a boil before leaving it to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until cooked.

5) Serve with freshly steamed white rice.