Canh Kho Qua (Bitter Melon Soup)

cookingforthewife @cook_3212033

Canh Kho Qua is a traditional Vietnamese Soup. Bitter melon(Kho Qua) is low in calorie but packed with nutrients! Kho Qua is especially good at lowering glucose levels. Kho Qua is an acquired taste, either you love it or hate it. With this new generation of Vietnamese American, traditional food like Canh Kho Qua is being lost to the wayside. Eating Canh Kho Qua brings back fond memories of my childhood when my mom would make it on cold days, I didn't love it that much back then, but love it now! Enjoy!

cookingforthewife @cook_3212033

Garden Grove, California

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Ingredients

3 hours

6 servings

4 mediumlength 8-12 inches bitter melons
10 cupwater
2 cupchicken stock(broth)
2 stalkgreen onion (thinly chopped)
1 lbground pork
2 tspfish sauce
2 tspground pepper
2 tspsugar
1 tspsalt
2peeled shallot
2minced shallot
1 cupwood ear mushroom, soak in warm water(10min), cut thinly
1pack knife fish paste
1 cupglass noodle (soaked in water for 10 min) cut into small pieces

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Steps

3 hours

1

Cut bitter melon to 3 inch length and remove fibrous part, and rinse. Bring a pot of water to a boil and put melon into it for about 1-2 minutes. Empty the water of pot to remove some of the melon's bitterness
2

Combine pork, fish paste, mushroom, noodle, minced shallot, salt, sugar, pepper, and green onion into a bowl. Mix well and knead (with hand) for 5 min, cover, and set aside for 15min
3

Stuff mix into melon, not to tight! Add water and chicken stock to pot, fish sauce, and salt. Stir well and bring to boil, and then add melon. Cook for 20-30min, do not cover. Remove the top layer of foam buildup occasionally, though it is ready to eat after about 30 minutes of boiling on high. It will make the melon more tender if you let it simmer on low for an additional 2 hours.