Vietnamese Bittermelon Soup (Canh Khổ Qua)
What is Canh Khổ Qua?
Canh khổ qua is Vietnamese bitter melon soup. Bitter melon is stuffed with seasoned ground pork, wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles, then simmered in a light broth. It's especially popular at Tết, since "khổ qua" sounds like "the hardship has passed."
Watch How to Make It
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Vietnamese Bittermelon Soup (Canh Khổ Qua)
Ingredients
- 1 lb bittermelon sectioned into ⅓
- 1 tablespoon chicken powder
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ⅓ teaspoon MSG
- 2 stalks green onion sliced into 2" pieces
For the filling
- ¼ lb ground pork
- 2 tablespoon dried woodear mushroom shredded
- ¼ bundle (12 oz) thin clear vermicelli
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ⅓ teaspoon MSG
- ⅓ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-soak your dried woodear mushroom and thin clear vermicelli in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain; rinse, and cut your vermicelli into smaller slices with a pair of scissors. Set aside.
- Clean and slice your bitter melon into thirds. Hollow the seeds out.
- Combine all the ingredients for the filling. And stuff each bittermelon section with enough pork mix.
- Add all stuffed bittermelon into a 3 qt pot and add water to fill half the pot. Bring to the stove and bring to boil over medium high heat.
- Once boiling, remove all the impurities from the broth and discard. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add all the seasonings: fish sauce, sugar, chicken powder, MSG. Add green onions and taste to adjust if needed.
- Serve hot with side of rice.
