Stuffed Bitter Melon with Pork and Chinese Sausage (臘腸豬肉苦瓜, Laap6 Coeng4 Zyu1 Juk6 Fu2 Gwaa1)

This classic Cantonese dish is made with pork and with the addition of Chinese sausage. I had previously posted a similar recipe using turkey: Stuffed Bitter Melon with Turkey and Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇釀苦瓜, Dung¹ Gu¹ Joeng⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹). Bitter melon lends itself to being stuffed, since the inedible pith and seeds in the middle leave so much space after being removed. I added diced Chinese sausage to the pork for taste, and sliced Chinese sausage to the tops of the stuffed bitter melon cylinders for a visual element to the dish. The further addition of whole Shiitake mushrooms makes the dish even tastier.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ lb.	250 g.	Ground pork (豬肉, zyu1 juk6)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2	2	Bitter melon (豆角, fu2 gwaa1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) cylinders
12	12	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
3	3	Chinese sausage (臘腸, laap6 coeng4)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
½ Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

5 qt.	4.7 L.	Non-stick pot

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Marinate the ground pork for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the ground pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
4. Dice two of the Chinese sausage into ¼-inch (7.5 mm) pieces and mix the diced sausage with the pork. Cut one of the Chinese sausage on the diagonal into ¼-inch (7.5 mm) slices. The slices will be used to top the bitter melon cylinders.
5. Wash and cut the bitter melon into 2-inch (5 cm.) cylinders. For a medium to large sized bitter melon, you will get 6-8 cylinders per bitter melon. Use a spoon to remove the bitter melon’s seeds and pith, which are not edible, being careful not to break the outer cylinder wall of the bitter melon. There’s no need to salt the bitter melon to remove any excess bitterness since the braising process will remove this for you.
6. Stuff each bitter melon cylinder with ground pork and press a sausage slice onto the top of each cylinder. Put each stuffed bitter melon cylinder, sliced sausage side down, in an oiled non-stick pot.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the non-stick pot over medium to medium-high heat to brown the stuffed bitter melon cylinders. Once browned, turn each stuffed bitter melon cylinder over to brown the other side.
2. Add the Shiitake mushrooms and the sauce ingredients to the pot. Add enough of the mushroom rehydration liquid to cover the ingredients in the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the stuffed bitter melon for 15-20 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat to the pot. Remove the stuffed bitter melon and Shiitake mushrooms to a serving dish.
4. Put the corn starch slurry solution into the pot and mix thoroughly into the sauce. Put the pot back over high heat and, while constantly stirring, bring the mixture to a boil to thicken the sauce. Turn off the heat and then pour the thickened sauce over the stuffed bitter melon and Shiitake mushrooms in the serving dish. Serve with steamed rice.