Pork stuffed tofu and bitter melon soup

9:15pm - Today I woke up and wanted to eat something healthy but also has subtance. Decided that I want to make two of my favorite recipes. Starting out with the bitter melon soup which I've never made before. I'm not a big fan of bitter melon due to its bitterness (duh), however, the way my aunt makes it, it decreases the bitterness where it's not so strong. All I know is that my aunt makes great bitter melon soup. I went to 99 Ranch Market to buy the bitter melon and attempt to prepare for the very first time. It turned out wonderful and tastes very pleasent. the bitter taste of the melon is still present, however it was just enough to give it that kick in taste. To help reduce the bitter, boil the melon for about 20mins before cooking.

As far as the sateed tofu stuffed with pork filling, this is my dad's favorite recipe. Mom has always been making this while I was growing up and it's one of my favorite tofu dishes. I make this dish quite frequently although frying fresh tofu is a little time consuming ( can be substituted for pre-fried tofu ). One reason why I like to make this recipe frequently is that besides deep frying the tofu, that it is easy and quick. I can complete this recipe in about 30mins. Below is a snippet of the ingredients used to make these two dishes. If you have any questions on how to prepare this dish, please feel free to contact me. Enjoy!

Pork stuffing - Ingredients: ground pork, dried black fungus, vermecelli (bean threads), minced garlic, chopped green onionssalt, pepper and sugar.

Bitter melon soup - Ingredients: 2 bitter melons, pork filling, chicken broth, dried shrimp, pork ribs, water, green onions, salt, pepper, sugar and fish sauce to taste.

Sateed pork stuffed tofu - Ingredients: Tofu (pasteurized, firm), pork filling, tomatoes, dried shrimp, green onions, fried red onions, salt, pepper, sugar, fish sauce to taste.