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A friend and neighbor was kind enough to drop off some leftovers from Famous Sichuan on Pell St in Manhattan’s Chinatown. One was described on the menu as Sautéed and Dried Bitter Melon which consisted of exactly that, sans embellishment. I decided that instead of consuming it straightaway as a snack, I’d stretch it into a proper lunch using whatever I had on hand. (You’ve heard me sing that song before.)

Perusing the interwebs, I found that both Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines (among others) include stir fried bitter melon with eggs in their repertoires – fair game for me to riff on. Now, what would harmonize with those two ingredients? If you’re savvy about such things, you’re familiar with Tomatoes & Eggs, the epitome of the homiest of Chinese home cooking; I had some grape tomatoes with unusually thick skins, rather tough for eating raw but perfect for stir frying. I incorporated some reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms for umami and scallions for bite and happily, it turned out to be a great combination.

Here’s the “before” photo in case you’re curious about what started the ball rolling.

Stay tuned to check out what I did with the other leftover dish!