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Canh Khổ Qua (Bitter Melon Soup)

Bitter melon stuffed with ground pork.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 13 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: Quick stuffed bitter melon soup
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Ingredients to season the ground pork:

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 fresh bitter melons with the seeds removed.
  • 2 tsp ground roasted garlic
  • 1½ tsp chopped fresh garlic
  • ½ finely chopped white onion

Ingredients for the broth:

  • 6 cups water
  • 2 cans chicken broth
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp chicken powder

Instructions

Instructions to prepare the bitter melons:

  • Place a pot filled ½ way with water along with 1/2 tsp salt and bring it to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil, go ahead and prepare the bitter melons.
    pot of boiling water for bitter melon blanching
  • Wash the bitter melons and pat dry using paper towels.
  • Take a small knife and make an incision into the bitter melon...big enough to remove the seeds using a spoon. Continue with this process until all the seeds have been removed from the bitter melons.
    removing of bitter melon seeds
  • After all the seeds are removed, the inside of the bitter melon should look like this so that it's ready to be boiled for 15 minutes.
    Bitter melon with the seeds removed
  • Into boiling water, place all the seedless bitter melons and set a timer for 15 minutes.
    Boiling the seedless bitter melons
  • Remove the bitter melons after the 15 minutes and immediately place them in an ice bath for 2 minutes then transfer to a plate while the ground pork gets seasoned.

Instructions for the ground pork seasoning:

  • Place the ground pork in a large bowl along with salt, ground roasted garlic, chopped fresh garlic, and finely chopped white onion and mix well. At this time, you can cook a small patty of the seasoned ground pork to make sure the seasonings are to your liking. If not, adjust accordingly before stuffing the bitter melon.
    Mixing of seasonings with ground pork
  • Using a spoon, place the seasoned ground pork inside the bitter melon. Continue this process until all the bitter melons are stuffed and set aside.

Instructions for the broth:

  • In a large pot, add water, chicken broth, salt, fish sauce, pepper and chicken powder. Bring the pot to a boil then add in the stuffed bitter melons.
    stuffed bitter melon in broth
  • Let the broth simmer until the bitter melons are soft & enjoy.