The Full Bitter Melon Experience! - Growing, Harvesting, and Tasting from My Garden

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Hey guys, thanks for watching! To see me grow some more cool fruits, check out this video here :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6aUdZWGgZ2qsNE Hope you're all doing well. -Kalem

[@MitchK_]

Hope you're doing well too, Kalem! Thanks for sharing and posting all the cool facts about the Bitter Melon and the similarities other plants have with it! I love learning all these fascinating things plants can do🌱 🌍

[@Madhankumar-ev8hr]

The nightmare of my life, I hate eating it but my brother likes it

[@runarjans]

Do you know kiwanos? I had a few plants and these grew so incredibly fast in Belgium

[@andrewgoodbody2121]

S great to see you on tictok too, been following you since before you got all buff 😂

[@siedaferdous8072]

Please do QnA video

[@jenniferk6697]

You have to be the most organized person ever to keep track of all your growing from seed projects that take months and years.

[@gruseph]

He is a npc I don't think he is real. Bro was the first chatgpt

[@daveking-sandbox9263]

I use theses all the time in my salads. They are great for keeping your insulin levels down, Great for type two diabetics 🙂

[@ChiefofSinnersThoughIBe]

Diabetics have a problem producing/absorbing insulin and typically need more than produced by their body.

[@SuperSasky]

In the Caribbean the leaves are often boiled and drunk to help with diabetes control and other wise

[@amano6979]

I eat them when I lost my appetite. yes they're bitter but any foods you eat after that taste good. but that also depend on how you prepare them, if you not used to how it taste you can expect nuisance for a half day😅

[@michelle76678]

So true i make juice from it@@SuperSasky

[@HmunmawiiVanchhawng]

and Neem leaves as well

[@davidhoyt9835]

I found this interesting and fun. Thanks! I was introduced to the bitter melon (the Chinese variety) several years ago by both a Malaysian friend and a Taiwanese colleague. I love it! I usually stir fry the melon with oyster sauce and some onion. It's a great side dish to other Asian foods. Bitter melon is also good in scrambled eggs. I like bitter taste; much like Italian broccoli rabe. I grew it easily in Connecticut (USA) but now that I live in south Florida (USA) it's even easier and it really thrives in our sandy, alkaline "soil" (like beach sand, truly). I have long followed your channel here and enjoy your informative and entertaining production. Thanks, mate!

[@AleshaOpry]

Stir-fried Bitter Gourd with Egg very delicious 😋😋

[@tonyskitchenreal]

I'm always so hyped when i see a new Upload of you Kalem! We all know that means quality time! Thank you for your effort and all the time you are spending to make those videos. ☀️🌴

[@shantim7740]

I loved this so much, bitter melons (called karela in hindi) are something we had when I was growing up in India but I didn't like them as a kid! I love when I find them in beggie markets in NZ, my main way of cooking them is with lots of tomatoes and garlic, sauted untils it's soft and almost... caramelisted. Sometimes I'd add a bit of golden syrup or date syrup to add some sweetness to the dish

[@coenvore1675]

Some of the best videos on the platform!

[@adarshguptak]

My Mom's trick: Boil chopped bitter gourd in water with little turmeric powder, raw sugar or jaggery, and tamarind (lemon juice). Boil for 3-5 minutes, discard water, and saute boiled bitter gourd pieces in little oil following sauteeing of finely chopped onions, salt, chilli powder, garnish with coriander powder and little raw sugar (jaggery or brown sugar). Very tasty with rice and tomato dal.

[@happymusics]

I grew to really like these bitter melons after adulthood because it reminded me of childhood. These go great with pre-stir fried beef which is added in to the cooked bitter melon w/ garlic & black beans. Make a light sauce at the end with water , soy sauce & corn starch to mix in all the flavors.

[@MuddasirShah]

As a kid I used to stay hungry when mum cooked these. Now they’re my favourite. Here’s my mum’s recepie. Try it and you’ll love it absolutely. 1. Cut into thin pieces (exactly as you did) 2. Sprinkle salt and then rinse 3. Slightly fry them, take them out from oil like french fries 4. Cut onion, fry that in fresh oil until the turn golden brown. I repeat don’t use the same oil from step 3. 5. Now add the half friend gourd to the onions. Sprinkle salt to taste. Add chicken if you’re not a vegetarian. (Slightly fry chicken before with little salt) 6. Add 2 green chillies don’t cut them. 7. Let them cook and then serve with roti 🫓 Amazing taste, after ladyfinger this is my second fav dish ❤

[@naumikaur7459]

Very interesting, love these and also managed to grow them last 2 years in the UK. I do find that almost all the recipes I am used to ( tasted growing up) have some intense flavours masking the bitterness to some extent. My absolute favourite is everything u had in your recipe plus sautéed onion and tomatoes. Start with oil onion garlic ginger ,add onion and when it’s brown add tomatoes . When the6 go soft add Bitter melon and cook till soft. Thank u for this amazing video.

[@sayedsheik4722]

Hi Kalem, Than you so much for the amazing and educational videos over the years! 🙂Haven't seen any new videos the past few months, hope you have some great content to share. Hope you and everyone else there are well.

[@jackdaniels4547]

the sheep in the bamboo forest shot in the background was nice ❤️

[@rodneylane7640]

That was professional, informative and highly entertaining... In fact up to your usual standard. Its obvious from how well these are put together just how much effort goes into making these videos. Thanks for the great content and looking forward to the next one.

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Cheers Rodney!

[@iwant2c2]

I am located in southeast Texas and I grow bitter melon every summer. Once the ambient temperature is above 50 F at night the seeds can be sown directly into the soil. I soak the seeds at least 12 hours in water prior to sowing directly into the soil in a location with full sun. They germinate in about 5 days. They grow vigorously during the Texas summer.

[@annhans3535]

Always learning so much from you. Bitter melons are one of my fav veggies. I normally slice them and soak them with salt to get some of the bitterness out. The dark green ones are really bitter. Squeeze the extra liquid out and wash the slices out and squeeze some more. Leave to dry overnight to dry it out in open air. Salute in onions, garlic and pepper and lots of tomatoes. Salute really well. The green ones might need some water added to steam them well. Eat with rice. It takes time to get used to eating it but after a while you will like it. And in the Caribbean we put small tiny shrimp in it and fry it up. It's even more delicious that way. Never had it when it turned yellow.

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Thanks for the tips!

[@PhearomLs]

My favorite fruits and vegetables I always plants and harvesting this and vegetables too And thanks for sharing this great techniques to me ❤❤

[@WILLIAMNG1026]

You can deep-fry the bitter melon and then cook with the salty egg York ! Super delicious ❤

[@hopefullyhigh]

Kind of off topic but also central to your whole channel, I have a guava seedling thats probably 3 weeks old at this point. I know its just a plant but the long germination time and high humidity to start it kind of intimidated me at first but your channel really helped show me how much wasnt just possible but easily attainable. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me, i can't wait to eat my own freshly harvested guavas 😋

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Thant's awesome, hope it keeps growing well! :)

[@JoinInDiscussion]

Hi, Bitter Gauard is very good for diabetes. I rub salt on these and leave it for few hours to take the extra bitterness out before cooking. You can also air fry them instead of stir frying.

[@BeeBlot]

This was great! I wound up with some this year, didn't do anything special beyond the initial soil amendments and they are very happy. I clicked on this because you discuss the ripe fruit. Thanks for sharing!

[@ashpjangde]

One recipe I suggest. Slit the bitter gourd to make it like a pouch, fill pickle spices in it then knot thin threads to it. Fry till it become almost black. It really tastes good.

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Thanks for the idea! :)

[@wanubijohari1]

Thanks for a very detailed video. Growing up in Guyana, SouthAmerica this plant was staple in most gardens because our parents used the leaves to make bitters to detox us children at the start of every school year, and we hated it, but as an adult it is one of my favorites to prepare with salted fish.

[@XLittleXRed]

So interesting, and good to know they can be grown here in NZ! I enjoyed eating them in Okinawa, saw a few other people mention their dish goya champuru, it's a very nice way to eat bitter melon I found :) Another very interesting ingredient you can try in Okinawa is sea grapes!

[@simplysimple7628]

One of my favorites. My kids like them too. Very good for you. We love them in any pork dish. I saute some pork with lots of garlic, onion and eggplant. I like to blanch the bittermelon in a separate pot of boiling water for about ten minutes or until tender. Drain the water, and add it to the pan of pork and eggplants. I’d even go as far as saying that this simple dish is my top 3 all time foods👍🏼😋😋 So ono with hot rice. Also the young shoots of the vines can be eaten also. Add to soups. Love them🙏🏼

[@cassandras2068]

Clicked on this cos I hate bitter melon and wanted to see if you enjoyed them lol. Really liked learning about the different plant bracts 👍

[@palestine2795]

Just got to work. Cannot wait to watch this on my break. Looking forward to it now even more now.

[@NotSpicyNotYummy]

One of my favourite vegetable. We roast it in charcoal then turn it into a salad with onion tomatoes chillies salt en pepper and a little vinegar. Or sauté it like how you did just add cherry tomatoes then when half done pour in beaten eggs. Filipinos favourite dish. 🎉

[@gopalsamant2099]

In a stir fry we generally add some jaggery to it and another optional addition can be roasted peanut powder. It compliments the bitterness well. Also you can cut it into circular discs and make crispy chips in a air fryer or oven.

[@derGlücksfuchs14]

Being filipino, this is one of my favorite vegetables. I also like stirfrying it with eggs, tomatoes, ground meats or even canned tuna..

[@7tonton]

Add bitten egg during cooking then eat with steamed rice. Yum!

[@seanjamescameron]

They certainly looks fascinating.

[@LuqmanAbdullahMohammed3005]

🇹🇹 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 🇹🇹 we call that carillie... You can stir fry it but what we do is cut it up nice and thin and salt it and put it out in the sun to dry a bit so that the bitterness can be reduced before cooking .. it can be cooked with some salted fish or any meat of choice ...

[@zeeblez]

You can take a look at a Japanese dish called "goya chanpuru" - which is a bitter melon stir-fry. Pretty good, cos you can end up adding onions, scrambled eggs & shreded pork - and goes well on top of steamed rice

[@tortron]

We have something similar everytime we go to my inlaws

[@GuagoFruit]

If you can add some dashi and a mashed up salted egg in it, it's even better.

[@FUGGLEmose]

Filipinos have a similar dish!

[@eddievuong]

I'm from Vietnam, and I absolutely adore bittermelon. There are two types that I know, the normal one and the "forest" one. The latter is much much bitter, and it's also my favourite. Stir-fried bittermelon with beaten eggs Bittermelon stuffed pork soup Fridged raw bittermelon with shredded pork Are all go for dish, experiement them if you will. They are all super delicious 😁 Edit: Your type in the video is what we call forest bittermelon

[@mummymaxine]

❤😊

[@victoriachap4560]

They are delicious pickled!!! Kinda of reminds me of olive.

[@peterpain6625]

Those look really interesting. Really want to try them now. But i suppose you need so scrape deeper into the inner. Like getting all the white stuff out? Imagining them with some Onion added to the Garlic and chilli for a rounder taste. Thanks for sharing!

[@MySinglemom]

Wow, I love your ideas! I love bitter melon or what we call ampalaya where I grew up. I love eating the leaves with chicken soup.

[@suzclarke]

Calaica.... childhood memories of the Honduran in my life 🥛

[@pelenaka]

Thank you for this video. 1st Summer growing Okinawan Bitter Melon 8n American Zone 3/4. It's been a wet & smog filled (Canadian Wildfires) garden season. I have so far harvested 2 Melons. I'm planning on dehydrating then pondering for use in smoothies. Hopefully it's as good as I heard for Diabetes. I had no idea I can use leaves & roots.

[@fernandoferdinand4866]

Supersubstantial and healthy food. My dad used to grow those in our garden and would naked us kids eat it either raw as a salad or sautéed with either pork, chicken, beef, or shrimp...yum!!..❤🌟🇨🇦🙏👍

[@aidancroft8881]

Always a treat, Kalem! Hope things are going well 💞💞💞

[@316Studios31]

Literally stared growing these the day before you posted this vidio

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Awesome, good luck with them!

[@EvannaLily123]

Two weeks ago I saw this fruit/vegetable (the green one) in an oriental supermarket and there was no sign or anything telling you what it was etc. Now I stumbled across your channel and this video in particular and know what it is. So I just wanted to say thank you😊 Greetings from Europe🌍

[@ANAJASADVENTURESLIFEINUK]

I love this vegetable and I grow also in my greenhouse, the leaves you can make salad also.

[@glenaspeslagh6114]

Thank you for this video. I will try growing this plant myself; you’ve inspired me

[@huyt285]

One of my favorites vegetable to eat, whether it’s stirred fried or in soup.

[@lynnvasquez4425]

I love bitter gourd. I always plant all year here in my garden in Brazil

[@jamesjacks9169]

I second the comment below however, I was taught a Filipino recipe with pork belly and scrambled egg. I like to add ginger and tumeric as well. I also adapted it to a fried rice dish using any leftovers from the refrigerator with scrambled egg. It can be a very well-balanced dish using all the five attributes (salt, sour, bitter, sweet and umami.)

[@mabuhayPinay]

Great idea for fried rice! I'll try this some time.

[@moni_som]

Karela /bitter gaurd is our family favourite vegetable ...my parents were shocked when they realised we their kids love it .most of the kid hate because of its bitter taste ....but we love it

[@thaik7474]

If you can,please show us how you treat the pragues in yours trees. I have this problem and i'm losing so many trees because of them. Sending love from Brazil 💛💚

[@cobnick]

It’s so nice to finally see a new video from you!

[@asm5987]

Wonrderful !!! It is great to grow fruits and vegetables in New Zealand , in the north of France it is more difficult.... Best Regards !

[@altafhasen4739]

The are my favorite if cooked right. The best way to salt treat the half moons is to leave them salted for a few hours and then repeat the process making sure to squeeze them dry. Then after frying them add a good amount of chopped tomatoes and fry the mixture until tomatoes become a paste and bitter melons start to get a little golden brown. Best enjoyed on a sandwich or with a flatbread. You can also cook this recipe with minced meat in it,

[@CarlosAlejandro.-ke6gr]

Im building my house and next to my house there is an overgrown plot of land, i literally can't stop this weird cucumber plant to grow around the steel rebar of my house columns. Its crazy how fast it grows back.

[@pattyallen1994]

Hello I really liked your video. I am going to plant the white Japanese bitter melon so I was so excited to see you had from seed going on. Do you think little animals are interested in these cuz last time I grew cantaloupe and something got my very first one. I was so bummed. If you have any suggestions thank you in advance

[@CathyCawood]

I live in Japan, and bitter melon is popular in summer here. There is a dish from Okinawa called goya champuru which has tofu, egg and bitter melon, and I make that fairly often. But my favorite way to eat it is thinly sliced on pizza. I think the bitter flavor goes well with cheese and tomato. I'm just about to try growing it on my apartment balcony for the first time. It may be too windy, but it's worth a try.

[@amysteggles]

Thanks for the inspiring content!

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Thanks so much for the support Amy, I really appreciate it! :)

[@andrewfong4216]

Nice. Traditionally Chinese people cook it with black bean and garlic sauce. Also goes well with a little pork. I'm attempting to grow them this year, too.

[@PeterEntwistle]

They are really cool-looking Kalem, I'm sure there are some good recipes out there for it. I noticed you have some banana plants growing in the background, I would love to see a video about them 😉

[@pinayladyoz8044]

We Filipinos cook bitter melon in many ways. I wish you add 2 beaten eggs with your bitter melon when you sauté it. Filipinos use the young leaves of the bitter melon for soup. We also mix bitter Mellon with eggs or prawns and we also make that into bitter melon salad. If you don't like bitter melon sell it to Asians as most Asians love Bitter melon.

[@thehobbyist1742]

The red thing covering the seeds on ripe ones are edible and quite sweet.

[@socloseagain4298]

Hi, do u have a video on how to prune a young kiwi? I have bought 3 last year which were already 1 year old ( only 2 of them kiwis made it through the winter ) and now 1 of the 2 has grown alot! And I'm wondering should I prune or not? 🙂

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Hey, sorry I don't have a video on that yet, but feel free to thin it out a bit if its getting a bit wild and tangled

[@socloseagain4298]

@@TheKiwiGrower The kiwi actually wrapped itself around a metal pole I placed for support 😅I did not expect that, I thought it would grow in a straight line like a vine but I was mistaken haha 🙂

[@rosinazaidiart7500]

Such a lovely video will be griwing these in the UK

[@82Julian]

Year by year always great...... very thanks Man 👍💪 i hope to see more videos like a past year!!

[@ozam35]

You are Amazing You are fantastic You are strong You are the best

[@matthewjamestaylor]

I love your videos. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.

[@demitv001]

In Jamaica we have a plant similar to this one called Cerasee. The fruits and leaves look the same. Only difference is that the ones here, their fruits are smaller. We use the plant here as a medicinal herb to make tea.

[@OurFamily-]

Its the same plant. There are a bunch of different varieties smaller bigger more warts less warts etc.

[@nildaotero2933]

Very interesting video. We have a way smaller (cundeamor) version in Puerto Rico. I remember sucking on the sweet seeds of the ripe fruit as a child.

[@mabuhayPinay]

Subbed! I like how much info you provide, now I know about brachts & arils. The trellis you made was awesome - I will modify it according to the materials I have & space availability. One thing to note: if you let a fruit turn yellow, it has generated mature seeds inside and has already signalled to the plant that it is the end of the growing season. This yellow fruit explodes to expose the seeds which will drop to the ground by gravity or wind (hence, you have volunteer plants next season). This signalling unfortunately tells the plant not to produce more fruit (and it is irreversible). It's the same phenomenon for cucumbers. Cukes have to be picked young so the plant can keep making fruit -- a survival mechanism. Now at the end of the growing period, allow the bitter melon to turn yellow so you can collect the seeds -- but enjoy the red arils first!

[@nazimchowdhury7307]

One of my favourite vegetable. Cook with onions. Fry the onions until golden brown, and then add garlic, tumeric, chilly. the sweetness of the caramelised onion counter balances the bitterness.

[@benburns5995]

Hi Kalem, thanks for this great video of growing Bitter Melon seeds from start to harvest. I have never heard of this type of fruit so it was very informative. I must say that with only 4 plants you sure had quite a few Bitter Melons to harvest. Hopefully you will find a way to make use of your harvest. The dark Green color and bumpy texture was sure different. I wonder if you would have less of a problem with bugs eating them with the bitterness of the fruit. They actually look more appetizing when they turn orange with the bright red seeds inside. The red seeds remind me of Pomegranate seeds, similar color. I live in Northwest Indiana so we are just started Spring and heading into Summer. Looking forward to starting my own garden.

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Cheers Ben! Enjoy the Summer and starting your new garden :)

[@damianrhea8875]

Thank you !!! Your this crop of Indian bitter melons are beautiful ! Indeed, bitter melon incites different extreme opinions about it - either love it or hate it. I know indigenous Asians who hate it and westerners who love it. It is almost an acquired taste. It is great in curry - soupy or stew-like or dry, Thai or Indian, coconut-milk-based or tomato-and-masala, etc.; Chinese cook it in soup, stir fry with different fermented pastes, summer cold salad, etc.; Japanese love it in a very famous Okinawa dish of sauté with egg and Spam (!); etc.. Try them! Bitter melon is weird - indeed - and fun and great.

[@peterpain6625]

Coconut... for sure. As a kind of "counterweight" to the heavy sweetness of the coconut i can imagine this to taste great. Thanks.

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Thanks that's great to know :)

[@damianrhea8875]

@@TheKiwiGrower You are very welcome! Your videos are very fun and great!

[@mamtajaya6457]

Hi brother. If you add lots of onion , it get sweeter and very tasty. I love the seeds cooked together. I eat with rice or tortillas

[@nasreenfatima4085]

My most favorite vegetable

[@DonisP.]

This looks like Asosi in Haïti. The leaves are used in a tincture. Also infused with homemade moonshine to battle all sorts of ailments.

[@Good_Looking_Duck]

Great video love the work

[@johnnyv303]

Imagine growing up and always having it for dinner, def explains the reasoning behind my bitter personality now! 😂

[@Betty-qd8st]

I wonder if I could use that structure for tomatoes?

[@rockstarthegamer8202]

Your plants are good

[@insaf_]

Very well put together.

[@mouayandrews8515]

I love bittermelon. I eat the leaves too.

[@FizzyFang]

I love these types of videos

[@rebiecamara8670]

You're so cute growing bitter melon which alot don't know about but famous to Asian. You can add eggs on it. It's nice and delicious.

[@perkyowl3792]

Mate you never disappoint

[@RaviKantRaj-kr1zw]

Indian bitter gourd tasty

[@mohammedsharif6393]

Your video is excellent well explained about bitter melon what ratio you used seaweed please reply many thanks

[@absolutelyalice1754]

I recommend hallowing out green bitter melon and filling it with sausage meat. Steam until well cooked then slice and stir fry with other veggies.

[@mouayandrews8515]

U can also stuff it with ground turkey and make soup. With other veggies 😋

[@raveraxx]

It's pretty common here in India. Love your videos

[@MitchK_]

Yes, another video! So glad to see you post a video, I was worried for a bit.😅 Love all these awesome plants man

[@TheKiwiGrower]

Cheers Mitch, yeah was a bit of a break!

[@generrosity]

Nice knot work 👌 always good vids

[@kayvong6397]

Hi! I just so interested with your bamboo forest, did you create that? It look so beautiful

[@benitoriverajr5288]

How are those avocados doing u were growing a couple years back? Did they last?

[@chrisbuchanan6304]

Cool video, Ill watch it later!😮

[@ToFightTheGoodFight]

Hey Kaylem, kio ora from Tassie. Great video. 👍🏽 I subscribe, bro

[@Braihei]

I love to eat bitter melon, it's good for health.

[@thedivide3688]

Bitter Melon is very good stuffed with ground pork, onion, mushroom. Leave the bitter melon whole just stuffed. Cook it in beef or chicken stock. Add. lil fish sauce or soy sauce for umami. Once soft and tender and cooks for few hours you have cooked bitter melon in a wonderful soup base you can pour over rice.

[@victoryinhim9689]

Love to see a new video 😊😊😊