Bitter melon soup with catfish on a cold windy day at the beginning of the season

After work in the late afternoon, I ran all the way to the suburban market, just in time to see a few fishmongers diligently grating fresh green fish meat. Glancing at the basket next to me, I saw a few bitter melons (small, dark green thorns) forgotten in the corner of the market… So the last meal of the day easily consisted of a bowl of bitter melon soup with fish and catfish, fragrant with the pepper and green chili of Quang Nam.

A bowl of warm catfish soup with the rich flavor of memories

Bitter melon (also known as bitter gourd) is a tropical and subtropical fruit, one of the most bitter of all vegetables. However, the bitter taste of bitter melon is often compared by our grandparents to "bitter medicine", to show the medicinal value in this fruit with a slightly "bitter" name.

In oriental medicine, bitter melon has a cooling effect, and has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. The medicinal properties of bitter melon also help control many types of diseases. A bowl of hot bitter melon soup with a moderate amount is often eaten to relieve colds, calm the nerves, help you sleep, and increase resistance because it has a very high vitamin C content. The habit of eating bitter melon also helps control weight, reduce blood fat, control diabetes, cool the liver, detoxify, reduce fever, stabilize blood pressure, and prevent cardiovascular diseases...

Because of the medicinal properties of bitter melon, my mother "spent her entire youth" training us to eat bitter melon soup, following the slogan of closing our eyes and chewing and swallowing like "holding our breath to cross the river". Only when we were able to eat bitter melon did I discover that I was addicted to its bitter taste. From then on, the fear of seeing bitter melon in the kitchen corner when I was little turned into a deep longing for the hot and fragrant bowl of bitter melon soup from my mother when I grew up and went to school far from home.

Normally, bitter melon is thinly sliced to make soup, but my mother likes to be sophisticated so she often cuts it into pieces and stuffs it with meat. Before stuffing the bitter melon, the pork is minced and marinated.

But for me, the most classic dish is still bitter melon soup stuffed with catfish. After cleaning the catfish, the seller slices the meat thinly to avoid bone fragments. When you buy it, just season it with a little salt, pepper and fish sauce, then knead it by hand until smooth and stuff it into the bitter melon. When the pot of water on the stove is boiling, crush the green chili from Quang and add a few cloves of onion.

When the water boils again, add the stuffed bitter melon and fish, let it boil gently for about 10 minutes until the bitter melon is cooked. Depending on your taste, adjust the heat to make the bitter melon crispy or soft. Then, season the bitter melon and fish soup with a few grains of salt and a little pepper to taste, then scoop it into a bowl and enjoy.

In addition to the characteristic bitter taste, bitter melon stuffed with catfish also has an unmistakable sweet aftertaste. Catfish meat is also benign, with high protein and omega-3 content, combined with bitter melon, it is a delicious and super nutritious dish. Moreover, this is a dish that is very suitable for a healthy diet, rich in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, low in spices and fat...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-kho-qua-ca-thac-lac-ngay-gio-lanh-dau-mua-185241202182119854.htm