Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

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 Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup
is Souper Duper

Inspiration: Ngo Family

When I was living in Hawaii, I would visit my husband's family for lunch on Sundays. My mother-in-law prepared phenomenal Vietnamese dishes, including stuffed bitter melon soup. The chicken stock and juicy pork softens the bitterness, but the bitter melon flavor is still transparent. I like to think this soup is medicinal as bitter melon is known for its many health benefits; as such, I love to eat this when I feel gross or unhealthy. If you want a strong kick of spice to clear the nostrils, add Thai chili peppers!


Ingredients
2 bitter melons, chopped and shelled out
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms
1/2 bundle cellophane noodles
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 Thai chili peppers, minced (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
32 fl oz chicken stock  
1-inch ginger, sliced
1 bunch of cilantro, for garnishment

 
Instructions
  1. Slice bitter melons into 2-3" inch pieces. 
  2. Remove insides of the bitter melon
  3. Soak cellophane noodles and wood ear mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes
  4. Drain the water and chop the cellophane noodles and wood ear mushrooms into 1" pieces
  5. Combine and mix the ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, cellophane noodles, fish sauce, Thai chili peppers, salt, and pepper in a large bowl 
  6. Stuff the bitter melons with the ground pork mixture. If you have extra ground pork, make pork balls! 
  7. In a pot, heat up chicken stock and ginger slices 
  8. Bring the stock to a boil and add the stuffed bitter melons
  9. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer soup on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until the pork is fully cooked 
  10. Garnish with cilantro


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