Stuffed Bitter Melon | 苦瓜封 (苦瓜鑲肉)
Bitter melon stuffed with delicious, savory ground port studded with goji berries and onions. It’s a beautiful side dish to serve with rice or enjoy on its own. Stuffed bitter melon is a traditional Hakka dish. It’s delicious and savory, bitter melon could be an acquired taste, but it’s a favorite of ours.
- Total Time25 minutes
- Yield4 People 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 Medium-sized Bitter Melon
Pork Filling
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- 4 TBsp Soy Sauce
- 1 TBsp Sugar
- 2 TBsp Cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp White Pepper
- 4 Cloves Garlic (minced or grated)
- 1 Small Onion (Diced)
- 1 Small Carrot (finely chopped)
- 2 Sprigs of Spring Onion
- 1/4 C Goji Berries
Instructions
- Clean and cut the bitter melon into 2″ thick rings. Scoop out the seeds and discard the foamy parts.
(To stuff a whole bitter melon: cut a rectangular hole and remove all the seeds, then stuff) - Mix together ground pork with all the seasoning- soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper. Keep stirring hard until the mixture is sticky, pick up the ball of ground pork and throw it back into the mixing bowl to help fast-track the process.
The mixture should be dough-like when it’s done. - Add the remaining ingredients for the pork mixture and mix well.
- Stuff the pork mixture into the rings.
- Place on a plate and steam on high for 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked.
(Some also like stuffed bitter melon in a clear broth soup. To do that, add these stuffed babies to chicken broth and boil until the meat is cooked.) - Serve!
Notes
If you prefer a softer texture for the bitter melon, you can blanch it in boiling water for 2 minutes before stuffing the meat and then steam.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Main Course, Pork, Side Dish, Soup
- Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese
Find it online: https://www.choochoocachew.com/stuffedbittermelon/
