Ginseng acupuncture and natural therapies

Bitter Melon Soup

Properties - Cooling and detoxifying , can help arrest excessive sweating Beneficial for Type II diabetes, people prone to heat ( especially summer heat - late January and February )

Ingredients 1 large Bitter Melon or a couple of smaller ones Handful of Jasmine rice ( use Basmati if making this with diabetics in mind ) Small can of black beans 200 grams of pork or beef mince ( you can substitute tempeh or tofu if you wish ) 2-3 tablespoons light soy Bunch of coriander 4 cups water ( optional ) teaspoon of Missells powdered vege stockPinch of white pepper Fish sauce for drizzling

How to: Cut the Melons into 3 or 4 pieces depending on their size. I like pieces around 10 cm each. Scoop out the white pithy bits so that you’re left with a melon tube.

In a bowl, combine the rice, beef or pork mince, black beans, soy, pepper and half the chopped coriander leaves and mix well with your hands. Now pack the mixture tightly into the melon tubes. Don’t worry about having two open ends, once they sit in the pot to cook in the water/stock the rice swells and keeps the mixture within its tube.

Place the water and vege stock onto heat and bring to the boil ( i reckon the vege stock adds a little extra ) and place the melon pieces in it. The stock should cover about half to three quarters of the melon pieces. Reduce to a low heat and cover. Turn the pieces every 10 minutes or so so that they cook all over. Cook for approx 20-30 minutes until the rice is cooked . The melons should still hold their shape when you lift them out with tongs and you should be able to slice through them like meat loaf and present them in the stock in separate bowls.

Drizzle with fish sauce and sprinkle with remaining coriander. Enjoy!

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