Bitter melon is one such vegetable with a very quick season. This squash crops up in July and August: it especially likes humid weather, but our new extreme dry heat seems to make it happy, too.

"Asian Vegetables," by Sara Deseran (Chronicle Books; 156 pages, paperback; $18.95).

Put the ribs in a bowl and add the soy sauce, rice wine, salt, pepper, sugar, cornstarch and 10ml (2tsp) of cooking oil. Mix thoroughly and leave to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Bitter melon is sold year-round in Chinese, Filipino and Indian grocery stores in Chicago. Most of the vegetables are imported from California, because bitter melon thrives in hot humid weather ...

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and heat until shimmering. Add bitter melon slices to the wok. Stir-fry until the melon is considerably softened but still a bit crisp, about 5 minutes.

1 large Chinese bitter melon 2-inch piece of ginger ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt 1 large mango, peeled and sliced ½ small onion, thinly sliced 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half ...

The Chinese bitter melon is the one I cook with most. I’ve found that blanching chopped pieces with saltwater goes a long way in mitigating the melon’s bitter taste.

Get recipes for Fried Wontons, Shay Shay Tien's Pow, Eight-Treasure Trini Chow Mein, Dasheen Pork, Five-Spice Rum Pork And Vegetables, Bitter Melon With Onion Seeds, and Chinese Cakes below.

Add chopped bitter melon, turmeric and water. Cook on medium heat until melon is soft but firm (test with a fork), about 10 minutes. Add more water if needed, Add tamarind.

-- PRICE Bitter melon was selling for 79 cents to $1.99 a pound last week. -- USES Bitter melons are used in many Asian cuisines, most prominently Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese.

SEBASTOPOL, Calif. -- On a small 3-acre plot of land in West Sonoma County, Leslie Wiser is connecting her ancestral Taiwanese family food traditions to her present-day life as a mother and farmer ...

Scientists have uncovered the therapeutic properties of bitter melon, a vegetable and traditional Chinese medicine, that make it a powerful treatment for type 2 diabetes. Scientists have uncovered ...