Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kh Qua Nhi Tht)
How do you pronounce bitter melon in Vietnamese? I pronounce it is with a silent K as in Canh O Qua. How do you know it?
During Tet (Chinese/Vietnamese Lunar New Year) one of the main side dishes that is served during this celebratory occasion is Canh Kho Qua. This stuffed bitter melon soup ismade by coring bitter melon and filling it with a mixture made of ground pork, bean thread vermicelli noodles, wood ear mushroom, along with other seasoning and aromaticsthen cooking it a savory pork, chicken or vegetable broth.
Bitter melon is part of the gourd family. It has lots of vitamins and minerals and is purported to have many health benefits, including increasing life expectancy, warding off ailments, serving as a natural Viagra and curing HIV.
Whatever benefits it has, one things for sure, I hated this soup as a kid. As the name suggests, this gourd is very bitter. It was way too bitter for me as kid and I knew of no other kid who liked it. It was always the old folks who loved this soup. I was convinced that if I ever like bitter melon, then I was ancient. Life was complete and death was near.
I now like bitter melon
Eating bitter melon soup is no longer a traumatic experience where I would grimace and gag at the sight of a hot bowl of bitter melon soup. Its now a comforting taste of home that I enjoy and appreciate. If not made into a soup, which helps with the bitterness, I also make it into a stir-fry with eggs. Dont get me wrong. Its an acquired taste, but after awhile, its not too bad.
Want to torment the kids or get a taste of nostalgia? Recipe below. Enjoy!
Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kh Qua Nhi Tht)
Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kh Qua Nhi Tht)
PRINTABLE RECIPEVietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kho Qua Nhoi Thit)
Serves 5-7
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 shallot (finely mince)
- 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon (pinch) ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dried wood ear mushroom (soak in warm water for 15 minutes, drain and rinse then chop finely)
- 1 oz dried bean thread vermicelli noodles (soak in warm water for 15 minutes, drain and rinse then chop finely)
- 2 green onions (thinly slice; separate whites and green parts)
- 1/8 teaspoon (pinch) ground black pepper
- 2 medium length bitter melons (10-12 inch long)
- 1-1/2 quarts water or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Stuffed Bitter Melon
Soup
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, shallot, sugar, salt, fish sauce, ground black pepper, wood ear mushroom, vermicelli noodles, and whites of green onion. Mixing well and squeezing the pork mixture with your hands will make the pork more springy and chewy, something the Vietnamese loves. Alternatively, you can mix all the ingredients in a food processor for 10 minutes.
- Cut off the ends of the bitter melon then cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces. Core out the middle with a metal spoon.
- Stuff bitter melon with the pork mixture. Any left over filling can be made into small meatballs.
- In a medium size pot, fill with 1-1/2 quarts water or chicken stock and bring the pot to a boil. Drop in the stuffed bitter melon and meatballs (if any). Lower heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes. Remove any foam/impurities that float to the top.
- Season soup with sugar, fish sauce, salt and ground black pepper. Garnish with the greens of the green onion and serve.
Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kh Qua Nhi Tht)
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