Dried Bitter Melon, Soybean & Pork Rib Soup
Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Hob
Dried bitter melon adds a gentle bitterness to a pork rib broth with tender soybeans and ginger. Weigh the dried ingredients before soaking, then choose the hob or electric pressure-cooker method on this page.
Times are approximate. Allow 8–12 hours to soak the soybeans in the fridge before cooking. Cooking time varies with the beans and appliance; check that the beans are tender through the centre and the pork is cooked through.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Dried bitter melon from the 80 g pack 20 g
- Dried soybeans from the 300 g pack, weighed before soaking 60 g
- Pork ribs, cut into roughly 4 cm pieces, bought separately 600 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh water for the hob method, plus extra for soaking and blanching 2 L
- Salt, added at the end About 2 g or to taste
Method
Soak the soybeans in the fridge
Pick over and rinse 60 g dried soybeans. Cover with at least 600 ml cold water and refrigerate, covered, at 5°C or below for 8–12 hours until visibly swollen. Soaked beans will still feel firm but should have swollen noticeably. If still shrivelled, replace with cold water and continue refrigerated soaking, checking again. Discard anything slimy or off-smelling. Drain away the soaking water and rinse. Soaking is not cooking; do not eat raw soaked beans.
Prepare the dried melon and ribs
Rinse 20 g dried bitter melon thoroughly, removing any obvious hard seeds or spoiled pieces, then drain. This product can go straight into soup after rinsing, without an extra long soak. Check the ribs for bone fragments. Cover with water in a separate pan, bring to the boil and blanch for 3–5 minutes. Lift into a clean dish and discard that water. Clean hands, tools and surfaces after handling raw pork.
Boil in fresh water, then simmer
Put the beans, blanched ribs, dried melon, ginger and 2 litres fresh water in a soup pot of at least 4 litres. Bring to a full boil, boil steadily for 10 minutes and skim foam. Reduce to a gentle, continuous simmer with the lid slightly ajar for about 1½–2 hours. Check the liquid and add hot water if needed to keep ingredients covered; never let it dry out.
Check beans and pork before seasoning
Cool several larger beans enough to handle, then press them open: they should be tender through the centre without a hard chalky core. If firm, simmer for another 15–20 minutes and check again. The ribs should be tender, with the thicker meat reaching 75°C for 30 seconds when measured away from bone. Only then season lightly and serve hot, watching for bones. Bitterness varies with the dried melon batch and personal preference.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: easy, with advance soybean soaking.
- Use 20 g dried bitter melon for four portions to give the broth a gently bitter flavour. Start with this amount and adjust future batches to taste.
- Rinsed dried bitter melon can go straight into the soup. Soybeans need advance soaking and must then be cooked until tender through the centre; soaking alone does not cook them.
Allergens
Contains soya. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Divide leftover soup between shallow containers, cool promptly and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only the portions needed, once, until the soup and meat are steaming hot throughout. Follow the raw pork’s storage instructions and keep soaked beans refrigerated until cooking.
Electric pressure cooker
Dried bitter melon adds a gentle bitterness to a pork rib broth with tender soybeans and ginger. Weigh the dried ingredients before soaking, then choose the hob or electric pressure-cooker method on this page.
Times are approximate. Allow 8–12 hours to soak the soybeans in the fridge before cooking. Cooking time varies with the beans and appliance; check that the beans are tender through the centre and the pork is cooked through.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Dried bitter melon from the 80 g pack 20 g
- Dried soybeans from the 300 g pack, weighed before soaking 60 g
- Pork ribs, cut into roughly 4 cm pieces, bought separately 600 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh water for the electric pressure cooker, plus extra for soaking and blanching 1.6 L
- Salt, added at the end About 2 g or to taste
Method
Soak beans and blanch ribs
Pick over and rinse 60 g dried soybeans, cover with at least 600 ml cold water and refrigerate at 5°C or below for 8–12 hours until swollen. Soaked beans will still feel firm. Replace water and continue refrigerated soaking if still shrivelled; discard if slimy or off-smelling. Drain and rinse. Rinse 20 g dried bitter melon and remove obvious hard seeds. Check the ribs for fragments, cut into roughly 4 cm pieces and blanch in boiling water for 3–5 minutes, discarding that water. Keep raw and cooked tools separate.
Check and load the cooker
Use an electric pressure cooker of at least 6 litres with a high-pressure setting. Check the seal, valve and minimum liquid requirement in its manual. Add the blanched ribs, soaked beans, dried melon, ginger and 1.6 litres fresh water, covering the beans completely and checking nothing is stuck to the base. The complete food-and-water load must stay below half-full or any lower bean/soup limit in the manual. If this cannot be met, use a suitable larger cooker or the hob method. Do not transfer this timing directly to a stovetop pressure cooker.
Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes
Lock the lid as instructed and set high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow roughly 15–25 additional minutes to reach pressure before the countdown starts. Tenderness varies with the cooker and beans, so check them after opening as described in the final step. Do not move the cooker or force the lid during cooking.
Allow full natural pressure release
Stop heating and Keep Warm as directed by your manual, leaving the lid locked until pressure falls completely on its own, about 20–40 minutes or longer. Bean soup can foam: do not quick-release steam or run cold water over an electric cooker. Open only when the pressure indicator has fully dropped and the lid unlocks normally as instructed. Elapsed minutes alone are not proof; keep clear of hot steam.
Check and finish with the lid open
Cool several larger beans and press open: they must be tender throughout without a hard chalky core. Check thicker rib meat away from bone reaches 75°C for 30 seconds and is tender. If not, use the cooker’s approved open-lid simmer/sauté setting for another 15–20 minutes or longer, topping up with hot water and checking again. Do not serve hard beans. Season only after these checks and divide between bowls. Refrigerate leftovers promptly as described below.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: easy, with advance soybean soaking.
- Use 20 g dried bitter melon for four portions to give the broth a gently bitter flavour. Start with this amount and adjust future batches to taste.
- Rinsed dried bitter melon can go straight into the soup. Soybeans need advance soaking and must then be cooked until tender through the centre; soaking alone does not cook them.
Allergens
Contains soya. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Divide leftover soup between shallow containers, cool promptly and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only the portions needed, once, until the soup and meat are steaming hot throughout. Follow the raw pork’s storage instructions and keep soaked beans refrigerated until cooking.
Shop the Xianyitang ingredients for this recipe
