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a bowl of Vietnamese bitter melon soup
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5 from 1 vote

Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup

Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup features bitter melon stuffed with pork in a clear and savory broth. This is a traditional dish of Southern Vietnamese cuisine.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Soaking Time (optional)30 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: canh kho qua, stuffed bitter melon soup, Vietnamese bitter melon soup
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 182kcal
Author: Sophie

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bitter melons
  • 0.25 oz dried wood-ear mushrooms
  • 6 oz ground pork
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced shallot
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups water
  • a 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • white part of 2 scallion stalks
  • 2 cups chicken stock (or pork bone broth)
  • green part of scallions, thinly sliced
  • cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Slice the bitter melons length-wise but not all the way through. Scoop out all the white part inside, and then soak them in salted water for about 30 minutes to draw out some of the bitterness.
  • Cover the dried wood-ear mushrooms with hot water for several minutes until they are fully rehydrated. Cut off the stems, then julienne and finely mince. You will need about ¼ cup of minced wood-ear mushrooms.
  • Add ground pork to a mixing bowl, then add wood-ear mushrooms, minced garlic, shallot, ¼ teaspoon salt, teaspoon fish sauce and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Mix to combine.
  • Remove bitter melons from the soaking liquids. If you want to reduce the bitterness even further, blanch them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Then rinse under cold water and pat dry. Stuff the bitter melons with the meat filling you have prepared in Step 3.

If you want the soup to be less bitter

  • Choose a pot that is large just enough to fit the bitter melons inside. Bring 2½ - 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the stuffed bitter melons, ginger, white part of scallions and ½ teaspoon salt. We want the water to be just about enough to cover the gourds.
  • Adjust the heat to just below medium heat and simmer with the lid slightly askew for 30-40 minutes until the bitter melons are tender. The heat should be enough to maintain something in between a gentle and rapid simmer. Skim off foam if needed.
  • Once the bitter melons are tender to your liking, discard about 1 cup of the cooking liquid (or more if you want the soup to be even less bitter), then add back about 2 cups of chicken stock.
  • Bring the soup back to a boil and adjust the taste to your liking. People traditionally add a bit of sugar to the soup, which may tone down the bitterness, but it is optional.

If you don't mind the bitterness

  • Simmer the stuffed bitter melon in 4-5 cups of chicken stock (or a combination of water and chicken stock) until tender. Then adjust the taste to your liking.
  • Transfer the soup to serving bowls and sprinkle with chopped green scallions, cilantro and more black pepper if desired. Serve hot.

Notes

Try to find bitter melons with few and smooth and large ridges which tend to be slightly less bitter. I also like to find the short and chubby ones for this recipe because I can keep them whole, and they still fit perfectly inside my pot. If your gourds are larger than your pot, you can slice them in half.
The ratio of meat to gourd is medium. If you want a higher ratio, you can increase the ground pork to about 8 oz and add an additional pinch of salt to the meat mixture.
Soaking the melons in salted water, blanching them and cooking them in plain water first and then replace with chicken stock later are ways to reduce the bitterness. If the bitterness doesn't bother you at all, you can skip all these additional steps.
Some Viet families in the South like to serve this soup with a small bowl of fish sauce with several slices of bird's eye chili on the side as a dipping sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 735mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 542IU | Vitamin C: 96mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg