Vegan Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

spoon holding up a stuffed bitter gourd over a pot full of Thai bitter melon soup

Vegan Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

5 from 1 vote

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Thai, Vietnamese

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 45

Servings: 4 side servings

Calories: 103kcal

Author: Kelly

Cost: $0.96 per serving

This unusual stuffed bitter melon soup from Thailand and Vietnam is traditionally eaten during the New Year. (Or make stuffed cucumber soup for a milder version.)

Print Recipe

US Imperial (Cups) - Metric (Grams)

Equipment

Stock pot or Dutch oven

Ingredients

6 oz Beyond Beef or Impossible Beef
1 tbsp mashed cilantro root (*can sub with 2 tbsp minced cilantro stems)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp ground white pepper (*can sub with black pepper)
1 large bitter melon or English cucumber, peeled
1 qt water
1 Vietnamese soup stock cube (see Note 1)
1 tbsp vegan fish sauce or soy sauce
2 tbsp chopped scallions (for serving)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (for serving)
salt (to taste)

Instructions

Slice cucumber or bitter melon into 2-inch long pieces and core them (using a small knife) to remove the seeds. If using bitter melon, blanch the pieces in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and soak in salted water while you prepare the other ingredients. This reduces the bitterness.
Mix together the Beyond or Impossible ground meat, cilantro root, garlic, and white pepper.
Pack the mixture tightly into each hollowed cucumber/melon. Any leftover filling can be shaped into meatballs and dropped into the soup.
Bring water, stock cube, and vegan fish sauce to a boil, then drop in the stuffed melons. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Taste for salt, adding as needed. Top with scallions and cilantro and serve.

Notes

I used one Vietnamese vegetarian (súp chay) stock cube. If you are using water or homemade vegetable stock, you may want to add some sugar and msg, especially if you are using bitter melon, as they help to offset the bitter flavour.

Nutrition