mara khi nok (small/wild bitter gourd)
ingredient / ingredient-mara-khinok
マラキーノック / Momordica charantia L.
Mara khi nok (small/wild bitter gourd) is a small, strongly bitter form of bitter gourd called "mara khinok" in Thai folk classification. It has the same scientific name as bitter gourd, but in Thailand is treated alongside the Chinese-type mara jeen (มะระจีน) as a separate folk category of smaller, more bitter fruit.
Photographs (captions in Japanese)
Fruit of a small, wart-covered wild type of bitter melon. During integration it was reconfirmed that the file page description contains the Thai text "มะระขี้นก".
Shown: Momordica charantia L. (as stated on the file page)Part / state: Fruit (small, warty)
Photo: Susan Slater / CC BY-SA 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image
Scope and provenance of the photo
Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. Based on the ruling, it has been confirmed that the Thai text "มะระขี้นก" appears in the body of the file page (reconfirmed at integration).
Image shown: No resizing, trimming, or color changes. The original image from Wikimedia Commons is used as it is. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.
On this page (9 sections)
Reading the bitterness
Mara khinok is a Thai folk term for a small, strongly bitter bitter gourd of the species Momordica charantia L. A university article for households introduces the bitter gourds commonly eaten in Thailand as 2 categories, Chinese-type mara jeen and mara khinok. A local-government source says the leaves are bitter and raw fruit has especially strong bitterness.
Before using mara khinok in other dishes, one described preparation is to boil it in vigorously boiling salted water and discard the water once cooked to reduce bitterness; another is to squeeze it in salt water. No values are given for boiling time, water quantity, or the extent of bitterness reduction.
After this pretreatment, it is described as used in spicy curries, panang, khua-style curry, northeastern Thai mushroom curry, and stir-fried eggs. The small, strongly bitter fruit is briefly boiled before appearing in various stewed and stir-fried dishes. The source does not give proportions or quantities for any of the dishes.
Mara khinok is recorded under the same scientific name as the existing bitter-gourd entry, not as a formally distinguished botanical variety. There is no direct description comparing its bitterness intensity with mara jeen. The parallel listing of local names supports only treating it as a folk category of smaller fruit described as more bitter.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: A public source listing local names such as mara lek under Momordica charantia L. / The local-government description that leaves are bitter and raw fruit especially bitter. / The bitterness-reducing preparation of boiling in salted water and discarding the water, or squeezing in salt water. / The source description of use in spicy curry, panang, stir-fried eggs, and other dishes after debittering. / The limitation that the shared scientific name does not establish a formally distinct variety.
Checked for this overview: An article presenting the bitter gourds eaten in Thailand in 2 categories, mara jeen and mara khinok. / The methodological limitation that the source only lists 2 categories side by side and does not compare their bitterness intensities.
Other names: มะระขี้นก (th), mara khi nok (th-Latn), ผักไซ (th, identification medium), ผักสะไล (th, identification medium), Momordica charantia L. (la)
Follow the connections
mara khi nok (small/wild bitter gourd) →is a type of→ bitter melon
Hypotheses and recipe candidates for this entry are on the Japanese page.
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (1)
Scope: A list of scientific and local names recorded in a publicly released Thai local-government source
Note: The source gives the same scientific name, Momordica charantia L. The side-by-side listing of the 2 types, including mara jeen (the Chinese-derived type), is based on a separate source (a home-cooking explanation from Suan Dusit). This is not a claim of a formal varietal name.
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ingredient-mara-khinok —is_a_type_of→ ingredient-bitter-gourdSensory (1)
Scope: A Thai local-government public source.
Note: A folk description, not a sensory test. The original-language wording is retained.
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ingredient-mara-khinok —has_sensory_attribute→ (the claim sentence above)How processing and cooking change it (2)
Scope: A cooking practice recorded in materials published by a Thai local government
Show data
ingredient-mara-khinok —is_prepared_with→ (the claim sentence above)Scope: A Thai local-government public source.
Show data
ingredient-mara-khinok —is_prepared_by→ (the claim sentence above)