My favorite dish that my mom made is the stuffed bitter melon soup. It’s a healthy home-style meal which isn’t available in Vietnamese eateries. The food itself is significant nutritious, delicious and highly it’s polarising.
Why is it that people are polarised? If cooked poorly, the bland, bitter taste can turn children off, and many kids end up starting to dislike it, especially when their parents love the bitter taste. There’s even a meme within the Vietnamese community of being compelled to have bitter Melon, with some people hating it while others embracing it. It takes a lot of skill to cook it properly so that the flavors are balanced. The bitter flavors in the soup made by Mum are balanced by pork and rice and served with a plethora of fresh herbs.
In the West, bitter Melon remains thought of as a weird vegetable co, considered an “exotic vegetable” not as widely accepted as bok choy. In the eastern dietetics field, however, it is believed that bitter Melon is regarded as among the top “cooling” vegetables available. Ingestion of excessively “heating” foods creates an imbalance of yin and Yang within the body, which results in adverse physical reactions. One example is eating excessive amounts of lychees or candy at once, and you may experience nausea or get pimples!
After having traveled to Asia extensively as a part of my job, I’ve eaten numerous varieties of bitter Melon in various ways. In Kyoto, Japan, I had a fried white, spiky, bitter melon, also known as goya, from a stall on the street. In Shenzhen, China, I was served finely sliced Ku gua bitter melon soaked in sugar and served on an ice-covered bed and served with carrots and peanuts as well; at my favorite Indian restaurant, I’ve tried Karela. This deep-fried miniature green bitter melon was served along with biryani.
My most loved kind of bitter Melon is the small, spiky, dark, bitter Melon from India, which has a strong bitter kick. But it is a bit sore; the taste fades away, so you can enjoy an additional bitter kick each time you eat.
But, throughout my adventures, my most favorite method of enjoying bitter Melon remains my mother’s homemade sweet Melon. I’m optimistic the bitter Melon taste will be more well-known and popular as Western audiences search for stronger flavors.
What should you look for when purchasing Bitter Melon?
1. Soft to the touch, with soft, smooth skin.
2. Bright green uniform color.
3. Beware of shriveled, dry, or skin that is turning yellow.
How do you keep bitter Melon in the refrigerator?
Place the bitter Melon in a bag and keep it in the refrigerator. The cooler temperature, along with the high humidity (above 80 percent), will keep the vegetable fresh and bitter, not bland, soft, and mushy. If you leave the bitter Melon unattended in the refrigerator, it will cause the skin to dry out.
How do I make bitter Melon?
The Bitter Melon can be cut into two halves, and scoop the seeds out using the help of a spoon. The bitter Melon should be soaked in iced salted water for between 10 and 20 minutes in order to soften the flavor.
Canh Kho Qua (pork-stuffed bitter soup made of Melon) Recipe
I’ve altered my mother’s bitter melon soup by enhancing the other flavors, which means my children are more likely to enjoy it. They also are raving about it!
Soy sauce dips are less intense than soy sauce for cooking. It is available at Asian supermarkets. For the pork, you can ask your butcher to cut the neck of the pork and the jowl at least twice. You can also use the pre-made broth of pork when you’re in a rush.
20g glass vermicelli noodles made of vermicelli
30g of dried wood ears of mushrooms
Three light-colored bitter melons
300g of pork neck(minced twice)
100g of pork Jowl (minced two times)
Two cloves of garlic grated
A 5cm slice of ginger cut into pieces, peeled, and minced finely
2 1 tsp sugar
One teaspoon salt
One teaspoon of white pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce
To make the pork neck broth
2kg pork neck bones
8 x 10cm long spare ribs for a pork baby
2 tbsp salt, plus extra if needed
2 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra if needed
2 tbsp sugar, plus extra if needed
To make the dipping sauce
Two red chillies cut into fine slices
1 1/2 tbsp “dipping” soy sauce
To serve
One bunch of coriander, leaves, and stems chopped roughly
One bunch of spring onions cut finely
Preheat the oven to 220C.
For the preparation of the broth for pork necks, put the bones of the pork neck and baby spare ribs into a roasting tin and cook for 20 minutes until they are browned. Transfer the roasted bones to a large extent, fill them with eight liters of water, and bring them to boiling. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and cook for one time or until the liquid has reduced to approximately 6 milliliters (no need to scrape the surface to remove impurities). Add salt, the fish sauce, sugar, and two teaspoons salt (or according to your preference), and then store at the lowest setting.
As you go, place the vermicelli noodles as well as dried wood ear mushrooms in separate, heatproof bowls. Cover the ingredients with boiling water. Leave your noodles in the water for 7 minutes and the mushrooms for fifteen minutes. Drain. Cut the noodles into lengths of 7cm and chop the mushrooms.
Slice the bitter melons into 4cm long cylinders. Then, use the knife or spoon to cut off and dispose of the flesh that is spongy inside and leave the solid green flesh and edges unharmed. The hollowed-out bitter Melon should be transferred to a large bowl filled with salted water and let sit until 15 mins. Drain.
Place the minced pork into an enormous bowl. Add the noodles and wood ear mushroom as well as garlic, ginger, sugar, white pepper, salt, and fish sauce. Use your hands to combine the ingredients. Utilizing a spoon or fingers, place the pork neck mixture into hollowed-out bitter melon cylinders. Pressing the combination in the ends of both sides to stop any air pockets from growing. (Roll leftovers into small balls before adding to the soup.)
Incorporate the stuffed bitter Melon into the broth, increase the temperature to a simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes or so until the Melon has softened and the filling has cooked. The soup should be tasted and seasoned with salt and sugar, as well as fish sauce as needed. Cook for another five minutes.
For the sauce to be used as a dip, mix all the ingredients in a small dish and then divide it among dip bowls.
Distribute the soup as well as the stuffed bitter Melon into bowls, garnish with spring onion and coriander, and serve the sauce on the side to dip the bitter Melon loaded with the stuffed ingredients.
