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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Bitter melon soup is a very good cooling dish. Especially when combined with the chewy fish, it can’t get any better. Let’s go to the kitchen and cook this delicious and attractive soup dish for your family to enjoy.
Ingredients for Bitter Melon Soup with Chewy Fish For 4 people
Chewy fish 150 gr Bitter melon 2 pieces (about 300gr) Green onions/cilantro A little Red onion 1 bulb Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common spices A little (Sugar/ seasoning powder/ ground pepper/ monosodium glutamate/ salt) Fish sauce 1 tablespoon
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh bitter melon
- You should choose bitter melons that are medium-sized, elongated, and still have the stem.
- Bitter melons that are bright green, shiny, with many tiny veins and protruding spikes will be less bitter.
- Do not buy dark green bitter melons with a swollen body, as they may have been treated with growth stimulants.
- Do not buy ripe bitter melons that are orange or yellow, or have rotted spots.
How to choose fresh and delicious snakehead fish paste
- You can buy live snakehead fish to process at home, fillet, and grind the meat to make fish paste or buy pre-processed and ground fish at supermarkets.
- For fresh, live snakehead fish: You should choose fish with clear eyes, shiny scales, firm and thick body to make it easier to scrape the meat.
- For pre-ground snakehead fish: choose the part of the fish that has a bright, pink or light pink color, not dull or pale green, and has no strange fishy smell.
- If you buy pre-processed and packaged fish meat, be sure to check the expiration date.
How to make Bitter Melon Soup with Snakehead Fish
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Prepare the ingredients
After buying, wash the bitter melon, remove the seeds, and cut it into round slices for easy eating.
How to reduce the bitterness of bitter melon:
- Method 1: The simplest way to reduce the bitterness of bitter melon is to wash it several times with water after cutting it into small pieces.
- Method 2: Completely removing the white inner part of the bitter melon also helps to reduce its bitterness.
- Method 3: You can also place the bitter melon in the refrigerator for about 1 – 2 hours; the low temperature will lessen the bitterness of the bitter melon.
- Method 4: You can also reduce the bitterness by marinating the bitter melon with a little salt for about 5 – 10 minutes and then rinsing it with clean water before cooking.
Green onions and cilantro should be cleaned of any damaged leaves, roots removed, and chopped finely. Shallots should be peeled and then minced.
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Marinate and shape the fish balls
The fish paste will be marinated with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and minced shallots.
To achieve a certain chewiness, use a spoon to mix the fish paste evenly for about 15 – 20 minutes. Then, shape the fish paste into bite-sized balls.
Note: To ensure the fish paste is chewy and delicious, you should use a spoon to mix or use a pestle to pound it.
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Cooking the soup
Put about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pot, heat the oil and add the fish cake to fry briefly. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
Next, add 1.5 liters of water, bring the water to a boil, then add the bitter melon, and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes before seasoning.
Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper to the pot. You can adjust the seasonings to suit your family’s taste. Finally, add finely chopped green onions and cilantro, and turn off the heat.
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Final product
Now we have a delicious and appealing bitter melon soup with fish cake for today’s meal. The pieces of fish cake are chewy and sweet, combined with the slightly bitter melon, and the broth is sweet and refreshing. This is truly a perfect combination.
See more
- How to make bitter melon stuffed with meat, less bitter, delicious, and prevents boredom during Tet
- How to cook bitter melon soup stuffed with delicious tofu
- 2 ways to cook green mustard soup with snakehead fish and meatballs for a meal
The above is a detailed guide on how to cook bitter melon soup with snakehead fish that is refreshing, changing flavors for the family. TasteVN hopes that with these useful articles sharing our delicious and simple cooking experiences, you will find them helpful. Wishing you success in your cooking!
*Source of the recipe and images shared from Facebook: Nguyễn Tám
