Bitter Gourd Soup 苦瓜汤

Bitter Gourd with Pork Ribs Soup 苦瓜排骨汤

This is one of my favourite home cooked Chinese soups. And it is really healthy. Just like watercress soup, bitter gourd (bitter melon) has cooling properties (among a host of other health benefits), which helps our body combat the hot weather. I’ve always love bitter taste more than sweet, but for those who do not like bitter gourd, don’t let the soup scare you – because it actually tastes quite sweet. The pork ribs, carrots and red dates lend their sweetness to balance the bitterness. I think those who do not like to eat bitter gourd have a better chance of accepting this soup than eating the classic bittergourd with egg stir fry. In fact, you can adjust the sweetness of the soup by adding more or less honey red dates. To me, however, a delicious bowl of bitter gourd soup must still taste slightly bitter, therefore I do not overpower the soup with too many honey red dates. I also like to buy the most bitter bittergourd I can find (the dark green ones are usually more bitter) when making this soup.

Ingredients

Scoop out the bittergourd seeds in the middle using a spoon, before cutting to large chunks (see step 2)

Thinly sliced bittergourd for the finishing touch

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 300g pork ribs
- 1 bittergourd (around 400g)
- 1 to 2 carrots, peeled and cut to small chunks
- 2 honey red dates
- 10 pitted red dates
- 1 tbsp wolfberries, soaked in water till puffy
- 1200 ml water
- sea salt

Directions
1. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for about 5 minutes, to remove the scum so that you have clear soup later.
2. Cut the bittergourd in half lengthwise, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, and cut into large chunks (see second photo). Using one of the large chunks, slice and set aside some thin bittergourd slices for step 4.
3. In a large soup pot, add water, red dates, blanched pork ribs, carrots and large bittergourd chunks. When the water comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.
4. Five minutes before you turn off the flame, add the soaked wolfberries and thin bittergourd slices. Season with salt. Serve with steamed rice.

Cooking Tip
1. After simmering for 20-30 minutes, taste the soup. If it’s too bitter, add one or two more honey red dates to your liking.
2. If you want to reduce the bitterness of the bitter gourd before cooking, you can rub a small amount of salt on the bitter gourd after removing the seeds, and then rinsing off the salt with water.

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Tagged as: bittergourd, pork, red date, wolfberry