Bitter melon is considered a ‘yin’ food in Chinese medicine, and is particularly suitable for consumption in the hot summer.

Teochew’s Healthy Bitter Melon Diet

The Teochew people have preserved the traditional Chinese medicine philosophy of health preservation and incorporated it into their diet.

From a nutritional point of view, bitter melon has the therapeutic effects of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, nourishing blood and qi, nourishing the kidney and spleen, nourishing the liver and improving eyesight, and it also has a high vitamin C content.

Not only that, the special bitter melon in bitter melon is known as a “fat killer” and can reduce fat intake and polysaccharides.

The balance of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’

Bitter melon is also called cool melon because it has a cool nature. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, bitter melon is best paired with ingredients that clear heat and detoxify, but if it is used alone, it is not suitable for people with cold stomachs.

Therefore, people often add some hot ingredients to bitter melon dishes. Therefore, whether it is bitter melon soup or stir-fried bitter melon, Teochew people often add ginger. By adding the ‘yang’ and hot ginger, the yin and yang of the whole dish will be balanced.

Clever taste combination

Teochew gourmet and chef Cai Songgao analyzed that pickles and soybeans can neutralize the bitterness of bitter melon, making it taste better and more nutritious.

Among them, the taste combination between bitter melon and pickles has many advantages in cooking principles, which can make bitter melon soup more delicious.

First of all, the taste of bitter melon is a unique sweet and bitter taste, so it is best to match it with a strong and salty ingredient. Pickles are salty miscellaneous foods, with the saltiness of salt and a certain leafy vegetable aroma, which can enhance the taste of bitter melon soup.

Daniel

Teochew Bitter Melon Pork Ribs Soup

In the hot summer, every Teochew household must have a pot of bitter melon soup. This bitter melon soup must be added with Teochew pickles. This pickle has no leaves, only stems. When it is paired with bitter melon, the soup is sweet and almost everyone loves it.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Servings: 2 People

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 500 g Ribs You can buy pre-cut ribs at the supermarket
• 300 g Bitter Melon Cut into strips
• 20 g ginger Cut into strips
• 100 g Teochew pickles There is no need to add salt after adding pickles. Just add it in the last 5 minutes of cooking to avoid overcooking and softening.
• 100 g soybean

Equipment

• 1 Electric stew pot

Method

 

1. Video Instruction

Notes

1. Wash and cut bitter melon into pieces, wash soybeans and pickles with clean water, chop ribs into pieces and blanch them in water and clean them.

2. Put ribs, soybeans, and bitter melon into a pot and stew for 1.5 hours. Add pickles in the last 5 minutes and serve.