Bitter melon - mara

Bitter melon - mara

Like the name says, bitter melon is bitter. Bitter melon is available at oriental groceries and Indian groceries.Bitter melon makes a wonderful soup. There is no need to peel, just cut off the stem and remove the seeds and white spongy part inside. There are three ways to cut up bitter melon. To make stuffed bitter melon soup, cut across to get 3-4 pieces and remove inside to get cylinders. The second way to make soup is to cut lengthwise and remove inside and cut into pieces, 2 inches long. For other types of cooking, cut lengthwise, remove the inside and slice into 1/4 of an inch pieces.

Recipes

It is said in Thai that bitter taste is the taste of medicine. Basically, bitter things are thought to be good for your health.
I don't know if it is really good for my health.
I just like the bitter taste of it.

This soup is so wonderful on cold winter nights. It has a slight bitter taste which I love. This recipe is a variation of stuffed bitter melon soup. Just a little easier to make.

2 Servings

2-3 cups water
1/2 cup spareribs
2 tablespoons soy sauce - mushroom
1 pinch ground pepper
1 clove garlic
1 bitter melon
Tips and substitutions
Omit pork for a vegetarian soup.

To produce a clear soup, let the soup simmer rather than boil. Leave the lid off.
Spareribs should be 2" x 2" or smaller. You can ask your butcher to cut them for you. Heat up water and the pork on medium heat. Add ground pepper, garlic and soy sauce and let the soup simmer on low or medium heat.

Cut the bitter melon across into 2 inch pieces. Cut those pieces lengthwise and remove the white fluff and seed. Add the cut bitter melon to the soup and let it simmer for an hour or until the bitter melon is soft and easy to cut with a spoon. You may need to add water from time to time. Add more soy sauce if needed.
Learn more about this and other similarly prepared Clear Broth Soups (Gang Jeud) recipes