Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kho Qua)

A bowl of bitter melon soup on a white cloth with a gold serving spoon

Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kho Qua)

Bitter melon soup is made with hollowed out bitter melons (bitter gourd), stuffed with a pork mince mixture and cooked in a light soup. A simple and healthy dish to be eaten with steaming white jasmine rice.

Course Rice Dish

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword bitter melon soup

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 50

Servings people

Calories 280kcal

Author Scruff

Ingredients

Stuffed Bitter Melons

10 gm pre-shredded black fungus / wood ear mushroom, roughly chopped
40 gm bean thread noodles cut into 2 cm / 1 in
800 gm bitter melon (roughly 3 large or 4 medium sized) cut into 4 cm / 1.5 in chunks
500 gm pork mince
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fish sauce
boiling water

Soup

2.5 L water
1/2 tsp vegetable stock powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 spring onions cut into 10 cm / 4 in lengths
2 tbsp fish sauce

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make the Stuffed Bitter Melons

Soak the black fungus in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain then roughly chop into 1.5 cm / 0.5 inch pieces.
Soak the bean vermicelli noodles for 5 minutes. Drain then chop into 1.5 cm / 0.5 inch pieces.
Cut the bitter melons into 4 cm / 1.5 in chunks, then use a spoon to scoop out the pith and seeds.
Combine the black fungus, noodles, pork mince, sugar, salt and fish sauce in a large bowl.
Stuff each of the bitter melons with the pork mince mixture. Roll any leftover stuffing into balls.
Optional Step: Put the meat balls and the stuffed melons into separate large bowls and pour boiling water over them. Gently move them around to release the scum.

Making the Soup

Add the water, vegetable stock powder, sugar and salt to a large stock pot and bring it to the boil on high.
Add the stuffed bitter melons, meat balls, spring onions and fish sauce to the soup. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 50 minutes or until tender.
After 50 minutes, remove one of the stuffed bitter melons and check it for tenderness. If at desired tenderness, turn off the heat. If not then allow to cook further.
Check the seasoning of your soup and adjust to your liking.
Serve with white jasmine rice and soy sauce.

Nutrition