Today’s dish you either hate it or love it. We’re making Canh Khổ Qua (Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup).

Growing up, you could not pay me to eat this dish. But as an adult now I’ve learned to appreciate the dish and its many health benefits. In Vietnamese, the title of the soup translates to “hardship passing soup.” I know, it’s a very confusing title.

But I learned from my parents that this soup is made often during New Year’s or celebrations to help bring in luck and to push any hardship or bad luck out. So that’s why they call it hardship passing soup.

I always thought it was just called that because it’s bitter AF so it’s a struggle to eat lol. If you don’t know, bitter melon is a very common veggie in Asian cooking. The title is slightly confusing, because one, yes it is bitter but two, it’s not really a melon at least not how we think of it in the United States. It’s more closer to a gourd than anything.

To ease the bitterness of the melons, these are traditionally stuffed with a ground pork filling and is served with rice. I also like dipping this in fish sauce with some chilies. As an adult I’m still 50-50 about this dish but my parents loves it. How about you? What’s your verdict on about bitter melon?

How To Make Canh Khổ Qua (Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup)

Recipe by Jen H. DaoCourse: Recipes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• Filling

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 lb shrimp (roughly chopped)

• 1/2 onion (diced)

• 1 tsp chicken bouillon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp sugar

• 2 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp oyster sauce

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp potato starch

• Soup

• 9 c chicken stock

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 2 tsp chicken boullion

• 1/2 onion

• 1 in ginger

• Garnish

• cilantro/green onions

Directions

• Heat up chicken stock in a pot, add onion, ginger and boil for 10 mins on medium heat. Then add seasonings to taste: salt, sugar and chicken bouillon.
• Wash and cut up bitter melon into sections. Cut out the seeds in the center of each one.
• In a bowl, mix together ground pork, shrimp, onion and all the seasonings listed. Add potato starch at the end and mix throughly with your hands.
• Stuff each section of bitter melon with the pork mixture. Add to boiling broth and cook for 14-15 mins on med heat. Serve with rice.

Recipe Video