This soup turns up at every death anniversary and Lunar New Year table. It is at its best when the filling is springy, the broth tastes of pork bones and the bitterness is only a whisper. The tricky parts are keeping the melon from splitting and keeping that bitterness gentle.
The blanching water is an old trick. Bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil with a little sweetener and salt, dip the bitter melon quickly, then drop it straight into iced water. The pieces stay green and lose most of their edge.
This batch weighs about 6.8kg, at roughly 52 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 700g bitter melon, cut each one in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 teaspoon salt, dip the bitter melon briefly, then drop it into a bowl of iced water. Lift out and drain.
Put 1kg pork bones, 3 liters of water, 18g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 15g salt and 2 shallots in a pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 60 minutes. Strain out the solids and keep the broth.
Blend 300g pork shoulder with 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, the white part of the spring onion, 40g wood ear mushroom and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper.
Put the blended pork, 200g ca thac lac, half the cilantro and 1 minced bird's eye chili in a large bowl. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the filling is smooth and springy.
Pack the filling into the drained bitter melon, pressing it in with a spoon. Use only as much filling as fits comfortably.
Pour 1.5 liters of broth into a pot over medium heat. Once it reaches a gentle boil, add the stuffed bitter melon and any leftover filling rolled into balls. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning, then simmer for another 15 minutes.
Add 1 red horn chili, the spring onion and the rest of the cilantro, then turn off the heat.
Tips
Blanch the bitter melon briefly in boiling water with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and salt, then drop it into ice water, which softens the bitterness and holds the green.
Fill each piece only as far as it takes, since packing it tight makes the filling swell and split the melon.
Hold the pot at a bare simmer throughout, as a hard boil pushes the filling out into the pot.
Simmer the bones for a full 60 minutes and strain off the sediment, which is what makes the soup clear.
Mix the filling for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns tacky, and it will hold together through the simmer.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.