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A hot bowl of Vietnamese Bitter Melon soup made in the instant pot. Stuffed with a pork mixture.

Instant Pot Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Khổ Qua)

Here is a quick Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup (Canh Khổ Qua) that can be made in the Instant Pot to cut down the time. Made with bitter melon stuffed with a ground pork mixture this healthy soup will keep you warm and bring back some nostalgic memories of your mom or grandma’s soup. This is my version of Vietnamese Bitter Melon Soup made in the Instant Pot for those busy weeknight meals.
5 from 1 vote
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Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Instant Pot Bitter Melon Soup 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 0

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Broth

  • 1 lbs pork neck bones
  • 20 g dried scallop soaked in water for 1 hour
  • 8 cup water

Bitter melon and pork stuffing

  • 2 large bitter melon
  • 1.5 lbs ground pork
  • 30 g dried wood ear mushroom Re-hydrate in water for 15 minutes, finely chopped
  • 1 shallot finely chopped
  • 1 bundle vermicelli bean thread soaked and cut into 3-inch lengths
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon optional

Garnish

  • 1 stalk green onion chopped
  • cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

Bone broth steps 1-3 Skip these steps if using store bought bone broth

  • Parboil the pork bone in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Wash and rinse under cold water to remove the impurities.
  • In the Instant Pot inner bowl add 8 cups of water, the cleaned pork neck bones and the rehydrated dried scallops.
  • Set to soup mode and set the timer for 1 hour and natural release for 20 minutes.

Bitter melon and pork stuffing

  • While the soup is cooking in the Instant Pot start to mix the pork stuffing. Combine the ground pork, dried wood-ear mushrooms, shallots, vermicelli bean thread, fish sauce, salt, sugar, black pepper, water and chicken bouillon. Mix well and let it marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
  • Wash the bitter melon thoroughly. Cut into 2.5-inch lengths and remove the white spongey insides and seeds. Use a spoon to scrap it.
  • When the pork stuffing is done marinate using a small spoon and stuff the pork into the bitter melon. If you have extra pork stuffing you can always slightly over stuff it and spread the pork stuffing over the top of the bitter melon.
  • If you are using the Instant Pot to make the broth once it’s done open the Instant Pot and add the stuffed bitter melon. Set the Instant Pot to manual high-pressure for 7 minutes and release immediately. Taste the soup and add salt accordingly.
  • Ladle the bitter melon soup into a bowl and garnish it with green onion and cilantro. Serve immediately with a bowl of rice.
Keyword Bitter melon, Instant Pot
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