Emily Jung Miller
Bitter Melon #1043
First in a series of sketches exploring my Hakka Chinese heritage and personal family history through traditional foods and recipes. Bitter melon is called 苦瓜 foo gwa in Mandarin and 凉瓜 loeng gwa in Cantonese.
Bitter melon was first recorded in Jiuhuang Bencao, a 15th century manual on herbs and foods to eat during a famine. According to legend, it was brought to China from Southeast Asia in the early Ming dynasty by naval explorer Zheng He. Bitter melon is ripe from midsummer through mid-fall.
My first memories of bitter melon were as a young teenager, when my mother began making bitter melon soup.
Recipe: Bitter Melon Eggs from The Woks of Life: A Culinary Genealogy
Bitter melon was first recorded in Jiuhuang Bencao, a 15th century manual on herbs and foods to eat during a famine. According to legend, it was brought to China from Southeast Asia in the early Ming dynasty by naval explorer Zheng He. Bitter melon is ripe from midsummer through mid-fall.
My first memories of bitter melon were as a young teenager, when my mother began making bitter melon soup.
Recipe: Bitter Melon Eggs from The Woks of Life: A Culinary Genealogy
Watercolor, 2025
4" x 6"
Original Painting Unavailable
Purchase Bitter Melon, Still Life Art Prints:
| 5x7 matted to 11x14" Art print |
$32
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| 8x10 matted to 11x14" Art print |
$40
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| 11x14" Paper giclee |
$100
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| 16x20" Paper giclee |
$165
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| Set of 8 Greeting Cards + Envelopes |
$30
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| Single Greeting Card + Envelope | $4 |
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Commissions to create new original artwork are currently closed. I will be reviewing my commission schedule for possible openings in February 2026.
