Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Kho Qua Nhoi Thit)

About This Recipe

This dish pairs bitter melon's distinctive, slightly bitter flavor with a savory ground pork and mushroom filling, simmered together in a clear broth. It's a dish especially associated with southern Vietnamese home cooking and traditionally eaten around Tet, when bitterness is thought to symbolize leaving hardship behind for the new year. Salting the bitter melon briefly before stuffing helps temper some of its sharpness, though the goal isn't to eliminate the bitterness entirely — it's meant to be there, balanced by the rich, savory pork filling and light broth.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4bitter melons(halved lengthwise and seeded)
• 1 tspfine sea salt(for salting bitter melon)
• 400 gground pork
• 6dried wood ear mushrooms(soaked and chopped)
• 30 gglass noodles(soaked and chopped)
• 2shallots(minced)
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 1.5 literschicken stock
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 2scallions(sliced, for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the bitter melon

   Rub the halved, seeded bitter melon with salt and let sit 15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.

2. 2

   Make the filling

   Combine ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, shallots, 1 tbsp fish sauce, and pepper, mixing well.

3. 3

   Stuff the melon

   Pack the pork filling firmly into each bitter melon half.

   Press the filling in firmly so it doesn't fall out during simmering.

4. 4

   Simmer in broth

   Bring chicken stock to a boil in a pot. Gently lower in the stuffed bitter melon, reduce to a simmer, and cook 25-30 minutes until the melon is tender and the filling is cooked through.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Season the broth with remaining fish sauce to taste. Ladle into bowls, garnish with scallions, and serve hot with rice.

Variations

• •

  Add shrimp to the pork filling for extra flavor.

• •

  Use ground chicken instead of pork for a lighter version.

• •

  Skip the stuffing and simply slice the bitter melon into the broth with the pork formed into meatballs instead.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 3 days; the bitter melon softens further on reheating but remains flavorful.

Frequently Asked Questions