Delicious and Healthy Stuffed Bitter Melon Leaves: A Perfect Dish for the Lunar New Year Holiday

Bitter gourd is a type of gourd that is fragrant from leaves to buds to fruit. When growing bitter gourd, people often think that only the fruit is edible, but those who have grown up in the countryside know that young bitter gourd leaves are also delicious, and the buds of bitter gourd are even more delicious. Young bitter gourd leaves also have excellent antibacterial properties. Making steamed minced meat in bitter gourd leaves is both refreshing and nutritious.

Prepare ingredients:

Minced pork 300 gr (ground)

Wood ear mushrooms 5 pieces

Yougn bitter gourd leaves 200 gr

3 shallots (finely chopped)

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

Common spices: pepper/sugar/chicken powder/MSG

How to choose fresh and delicious pork

Shoulder meat is soft and crispy, and it will be less fatty than meat from other parts. You should choose meat that is still pink, without any strange odor, press the meat to see if it is elastic, the meat can be ground or minced.

How to choose delicious wood ear mushrooms

The wood ear mushrooms should be thick, big in size, and slightly darker in color. Soak the wood ear mushrooms in water to make them expand, avoid soaking them in boiling water as they will become soft.

Instructions:

After soaking the wood ear mushrooms until they expand, wash them thoroughly and remove the stems. Cut the wood ear mushrooms into small pieces.

For the filling: Mix ground meat, diced wood ear mushrooms, chicken powder, pepper, sugar, fish sauce, and MSG, finely chopped shallots, mix well and let it marinate for 15 minutes.

Wash and drain the bitter gourd leaves.

Wrap the filling in bitter gourd leaves

After marinating the filling, form it into round balls of a size that fits the bitter gourd leaves. Then wrap the filling in the leaves. You can brush a little cooking oil on the leaves before wrapping. Place the wrapped leaves in a steamer.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, then place the steamer in the pot to steam. Steam for about 15 minutes until the meat and bitter gourd leaves are cooked. Avoid boiling the water too vigorously, use low heat to gradually cook the filling to make it tender.

Steamed minced meat in bitter gourd leaves has the sweet taste of meat, the crispness of wood ear mushrooms, and the fragrant sweetness of bitter gourd leaves.

This dish can be served with hot rice. You can also make a dipping sauce with chili fish sauce or make a salt and pepper dipping sauce with lemon to add variety to the dish.

You can also turn this dish into a soup. Instead of steaming, you can cook a broth in a pot, then add the wrapped bitter gourd leaves to make a delicious soup. Finally, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and cilantro for a fragrant and delicious soup that prevents greasiness.