Easy Bitter Gourd Soup Recipe
Tasty and sweet, yet lightly bitter, this Bitter Gourd Soup with Pork Ribs is perfect on a cold day. Full of nutrition and flavour, it’s simple to make, yet very delicious! It can even be set on the second stove to boil while the main dish is being prepared.
Ingredients
Meat with Bones – As plain water is used, any meat with bones meant for stock works very well. For extra flavour, the water can also be replaced with pre-made stock. Note that some ready-made stock is already salted and tasty, so make sure to adjust the salt amount to your liking.
Bitter Gourd – Also known as bitter melon, it’s children’s worst enemy. While this bitter gourd soup recipe utilises the bitterness as-is, it can be toned down even further by washing it with salt after cutting. Simply rub the cut bitter gourd pieces with a handful of salt, and then rinse all the salt off under running water.
Carrots, Yellow Onions, Garlic – Both of these give a sweetness to the soup. Other vegetables that can be used are white radish, luffa, celery, etc.
Salt, Pepper – These are the basic seasonings I use to marinade my meats. Feel free to omit the pepper and reduce the salt to your liking.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to this Bitter Gourd Soup with Pork Ribs:
- Slice the peeled yellow onions into thin wedges.
- Cut peeled carrots into bite-sized pieces.
- Scrape the seeds from the bitter gourd with a spoon.
- Cut the bitter gourd into 2 by 1 inch pieces.
- Marinate the meat with salt and pepper.
- Add yellow onions, garlic, pork ribs, carrots and 150ml water to a stockpot over medium heat. Cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink.
- Stir the meat. Add 1.9L of water. Cover and let it boil for 1 hour.
- Add bitter gourd at the 40th minute.
- Add salt and pepper. Stir, then cover and let it boil until the hour is up.
- With 1 minute to go, poke a rib with a fork.
- Taste and adjust.
- Sprinkle spring onions, reserving some for garnishing when serving.
Tips
- Cooking the marinated pork for the first 5 minutes extracts its flavour into the bitter gourd soup. For this reason, it’s not necessary to blanch the pork ribs.
- The bitter gourd can be washed with salt to reduce its bitterness. For this dish, the soup is tastier with a hint of bitterness, so I skipped this step.
- Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces so they cook easily.
- When a fork easily pierces the meat, the pork is tender enough to consume.
- Add bitter gourd at the last 20 minutes of cooking to prevent them from breaking apart.
- Letting the soup rest for 10 minutes infuses the spring onions’ flavours, and for it to cool slightly.
- Serve with a main dish, or as-is with white rice.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for no more than 2 days. Be sure to bring to a boil over the stove before consuming.
However, it’s not recommended to freeze the bitter gourd soup as the ice crystals that form will affect the texture of the vegetables when it thaws.
Let’s Eat!
Tasty with the well-marinated pork and sweetness from the carrots, with a hint of bitterness in the soup. The pork meat is tender and luscious, and the carrots and bitter gourd melt in the mouth.
The taste of the soup is subtle and light, not too strong and overpowering. It makes a perfect palate cleanser if served with other strong-flavoured foods, such as:
- Char Siew – Chinese-style BBQ Pork
- Siew Yoke – Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Skin
- Minced Pork Egg Rolls
Hope you have enjoyed the recipe 😀
Bitter Gourd Pork Soup
Equipment
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- Stockpot/ Deep Pan
- Soup Ladle
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, medium, peeled and washed
- 1 carrot, medium, peeled
- 1 bitter gourd, medium
- 1 bulb garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 17.6 oz pork ribs
- 8.5 cups water
- 1 stalk spring onion
Instructions
Preparation
- Cut onion into wedges. Cut carrots into bite-sized pieces.
- Scrape the seeds from the bitter gourd with a spoon and cut into wedges.
- Peel and smash the garlic. Set them aside.
- Sprinkle 1/2 of the salt and 1/2 of the pepper over the meat. Rub to marinate evenly.
Cooking the Soup
- In a pot over medium heat, add onions, garlic, pork, carrots, and 100ml of water. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, give the stockpot a stir. Add all the water. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes to evenly cook the ingredients.
- Stir the pot after 45 minutes. Add all the bitter gourd, pepper and salt. Stir to distribute the seasonings. Cover the pot and let it boil for another 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, poke a fork through the pork. If it goes through easily, it is cooked.
- Taste and adjust as preferred.
- Sprinkle some of the chopped spring onions and cover the stock pot. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Dish out. Garnish with the rest of the spring onions and serve with white rice.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Cooking the marinated pork for the first 5 minutes extracts its flavour into the bitter gourd soup. For this reason, it’s not necessary to blanch the pork ribs.
- The bitter gourd can be washed with salt to reduce its bitterness. For this dish, the soup is tastier with a hint of bitterness, so I skipped this step.
- Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces so they cook easily.
- When a fork easily pierces the meat, the pork is tender enough to consume.
- Add bitter gourd at the last 20 minutes of cooking to prevent them from breaking apart.
- Letting the soup rest for 10 minutes infuses the spring onions’ flavours, and for it to cool slightly.
- Serve with a main dish, or as-is with white rice.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!