Bitter melon contains a unique phyto-constituent that has been confirmed to have a hypoglycemic effect called charantin. There is also another insulin-like compound known as polypeptide P which have been suggested as insulin replacement in some diabetic patients.
Bitter melons are very low in calories but dense with precious nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, C, magnesium, folate, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and has high dietary fiber. It is rich in iron, contains twice the beta-carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana.
Westerners may not be so used to bitter melons, so may find them more difficult to consume. But if you can generally take bitter taste, you may be able to take this too. Try it, at least for all its healthful virtues!
Ingredients:
2 large bitter melons
Tips: Choose unripe bitter melons that are firm, like how you would a cucumber. Avoid those that have turned orange or have soft spots. Ripe bitter melons can be excessively bitter.
250g of ground pork (you could do 50g of vermicelli and 15g of wooded ear mushroom and just 200g of ground pork)
250g of ground pork (you could do 50g of vermicelli and 15g of wooded ear mushroom and just 200g of ground pork)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chicken powder
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of green onion, cut into 1 cm pieces
Marinate ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of chicken powder
1/2 teaspoon of green onion, cut into 1 cm pieces
A dust of black pepper
1 tablespoon of diced garlic
Directions:
Cut bitter melon into 2-3 pieces (depend on the size of the melon, as you could see, I cut the bigger one into 3 pieces and the smaller one into 2 pieces). Remove the seed using a small knife and rinse with water and place them upside down.
If you’re using vermicelli and wooded ear mushroom, soak with water for at least 10 minutes. Wooded ear mushroom cut into very this stripe and vermicelli cut into about 10cm length and set aside to be mixed with the meat later.
Place ground pork on a plate and add marinate ingredients (vermicelli and wooded ear mushroom could be added too). Mix it together and leave in a fridge for 10 minutes before stuff it into the bitter melon.
Now it’s time to bring water to boiled in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat and add stuffed bitter melon then reduced the heat to low. Start adding salt, sugar,chicken powder and fish sauce and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes without stirring it.
Bring to your taste and add the rest go green onion and remove from stove top. Serve with steam rice for the taste of this soup!
