27 September 2011

Stuffed bitter melon soup


Bitter melon; either you love it or hate it, there is nothing in between. Although I always thought it was a veggie it’s actually a fruit (Wikipedia) and it’s the only fruit I know of that has a bitter taste. There are several varieties, but the most common one is “China phenotype”.

When I was young I use to hate it. I just couldn’t get over the taste. The way I learned how to eat it, was to eat it together with some picked daikon root. It slightly concealed the bitterness and made it easier to swallow. Not that my mom really made me eat it, but the daikon did help me to get over it ‘mentally”. Once you get over that it’s pretty nice, even delicious once you get to love it.

It sounds weird, but these things make great salad. I will share the recipe next time I make it.
Anyway, this is my favorite way to eat it: 
Remember I made the stuffing for my “stuffed tofu” recipe and I froze half of it. Well I used this to stuff my bitter melon. I wassed them, cut them in pieces, scrapped all the seeds out and stuff them with the meat mixture.
I stuffed as much meat as I could, since I love lots of meat.
I cooked enough water to cover the melons and put them in when the water boiled. Because I like a clear broth I scooped out all the foam and fat. Then I seasoned the broth with some salt.
When the melons turn soft they are ready to eat, but I rarely eat them the same day. I found out that they are less bitter when you eat it the next day, or even 2 days later.

All they need now is a sprinkle of fresh chopped coriander and some spring onions.
I ate this soup with some plain white rice. The hubby and my sister didn’t touched it at all so it was all me. Had to eat it for 3 days…so I can now say that I will not have any bitter melons for the next coming months.

13 comments:

  1. Oh Lilly, I love these stuffed bitter melon...unfortunately my husband does not care for it :-( Yours look delicious with meat.
    Hope you are having a fantastic week :-)

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  2. Lilly - this is not something I've ever had, but I would definitely try it! It looks like it has interesting flavors and would be fun to sit and have a bowl of soup with you!

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  3. Looks like an interesting dish Lilly! I'm all about things stuffed with meat though =)

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  4. Lilly, yet another fascinating dish! I've never eaten bitter melon so will watch out for it in the market. Your hubby and sister have missed out on a wonderful dish!

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  5. What an interesting recipe! I am going to have to give this one a try because I have never had anything this. Yum!

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  6. Same here, Lilly. Used to hate bitter melons but am now a fan. A bit pricey here though so we don't get to eat it as much as we'd like. Lovely recipe. I wish I could have helped you eat it.

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  7. As an Asian I like it ,but I have an experiment,i cook here for my american friends, they don't like it at all,,,,hahaha,,, I told them is bitter !! but they still want to try so,,,it was funny though,,one of them think is not food :(

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  8. How funny you had to eat them all yourself. If I make certain things the family does that to me. I've never tried them, but the do look good.
    -Gina-

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  9. There’s a reason why my hubby and sister didn’t like to eat this. Although the meat stuffing is really good, it gets bitter as well and that’s something not everyone likes. So if you want to try this, make sure you start with one small bitter melon. You might like it, but bigger chance that you won’t. You’ve been warned =)

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  10. Bitter melon is popular ingredient in Okinawa, Japan. They usually cook with eggs. Your version looks so delicious in a soup! It's so full of flavor and I wish I was there with you - I'd be happy to eat for 3 days! Or maybe 2 days with two of us. ;-)

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  11. Fascinating! Not familiar with bitter melon...the name alone is a little scary :) But if you say this recipe is a winner, I totally believe you! Buzzed

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  12. Honestly I never had those...it sound great soup, with all the flavorful combination!

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  13. I wish you all were there to have this soup with me; 3 days in a row was even too much for me!

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