Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup Recipe (Canh Khổ Qua)

Based on the Lunar calendar, Vietnamese marks the hottest summer period with a variety of foods. On these days, the Vietnamese stuffed bitter melon soup recipe is eaten with the hope that “difficult, hardship passed”. It is a reason why Southern Vietnamese calls this dish under the strange but meaningful name of “Canh Kho Qua”

Today, the stuffed bitter melon soup becomes more popular in the summer. I had the bad experience with the Vietnamese stuffed bitter melon soup recipe. However, many people told me that it has a lot of essential nutrients and amazing benefits for health. Now, I start liking this dish and I realize that we may make the Lunar New Year less meaningful without the Vietnamese stuffed bitter melon soup recipe. So, I decide to make the stuffed melon soup recipe. The soup requires bitter melons, pork, wood ear mushroom, dried mung bean noodles, broth, etc, in the preparation. The finished-product is a milky broth with tender stuffed bitter melons. This does not take such many hours to cook. The key is to use a lot of onions. Make this flavorful stuffed bitter melon soup and beat the heat the Vietnamese way!

Bitter melon – 4 fruits
Pork – 400 gram, ground
Onion – 1 bulb (medium)
Woodear – 1/2 cup (chopped)
Noodles – 1 pack (dried mung bean noodles, chopped)
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Pepper – 1 teaspoon
Sugar – 2 teaspoons
Sauce – 1/2 tablespoon (Fish sauce)
Water – 4.5 cups
Broth – 3 cups
Sugar – one teaspoon for seasoning the broth
Salt – one teaspoon for seasoning the broth
Onion – 1 green bulb ( chopped)
Cilantro – optional (chopped)

Instructions:

1. Soak bean threads and mushrooms in hot water until they turn soft.

2. Leave them about 10 minutes and then drain the mushrooms well.

3. Mix ground pork with mushrooms and mung bean threads.

4. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and fish sauce to this mixture and then mix them well

5. Cut a slit along each bitter melon and use the spoon to remove its seeds ( If it does not open properly, you will need to split the melon in half lengthwise and then add the filling)

6. Add the filling (pork, mushrooms, bean threads) inside the bitter melon

7. Boil the water and broth in a pot on high heat, but leave aside about 1 cup for adjusting seasoning

8. Put the stuffed bitter melons into the boiling water

9. Turn the heat down

10. Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until bitter melons turn fork-tender.

Because the water will slightly evaporate and the stuffed bitter melon may release seasoning to the broth, you should taste it before adding salt and sugar. Add more water if needed. To taste it delicious, you should cut stuffed bitter melons into 1.5-2″ long pieces. Garnish with cilantro and green onion.

I have just introduced the flavorful Vietnamese stuffed bitter melon soup recipe and I hope that you can follow it easily at home. Any questions about this Vietnamese stuffed bitter melon soup recipe can be left in the comment section below the post. I will answer as soon as I can. Thank you for reading.