Vietnamese name: Ổ qua rừng, mướp đắng rừng, lương qua, cẩm lệ chi
Botanical Name: Spondias Dulcis
English name: wild bitter melon, wild bitter gourd, wild bitter squash
Possible substitute: Indian Bittergourd (Momordica Charantia)

Best things about this recipe: Suitable for vegetarians

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: For 2 – 3 pax

Ingredients:

250 g tofu
1 minced Chinese parsley (or Coriander)
2 Wood-Ear Mushroom
1 g ground pepper
3 g salt
1 tsp minced leek
350 g wild bitter melon

Instructions:

1. Clean the mushrooms to remove all the dirt and dice them into small pieces. Put the tofu into a thin cloth and squeeze out all the water inside. Put the ground leek, salt, pepper in the mortar to grind, then add the tofu to the mortar to puree, after that add the diced mushrooms and mix well
2. Split the wild bitter melon vertically to remove the inner parts and the seeds inside, after that soak with the salty water and wash them. Prepare a pot of water, add a little salt and boil it until boiling, blanching the wild bitter melon for 30 seconds to remove bitterness from the melon. Cool Immediately cool with iced water. Let it to dry.
3. Stuff the wild bitter melon with the tofu puree prepared at step 1. Prepare another pot of water that can cover all the stuffed bitter melon, put the stuffed bitter melon in when the water is boiling. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, garnish with some Chinese parsley.
4. Place on a plate, sprinkle with peanuts and serve with delicious crispy croutons/toasts.

Note:

The sandwich bread should be kept separated, as the wet salad might moist the bread immediately.

Sprinkle moist mixture on fish mint and carrots, mix well for salad to infuse