# 1块豆腐加2个苦瓜，不炒不炖不凉拌，出锅比大鱼大肉还过瘾，香！

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKbp7TMR0N0
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/CKbp7TMR0N0
Generated: 2025-12-21T02:34:12.062+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The recipe successfully creates steamed meatballs stuffed with a mixture of minced pork, bitter melon, and carrots, served over tofu and topped with a savory, slightly spicy garlic and chili sauce, resulting in a dish that is savory, sweet from the carrots, and only slightly bitter from the pre-blanched bitter melon.

**Key Points:**
- The dish involves preparing meatballs by stuffing hollowed-out bitter melon sections with a filling of minced pork, finely diced carrots, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce, soybean paste, pepper, and starch.
- The bitter melon is prepared by trimming the ends, halving it, scooping out the pith (which is noted as very bitter), and then blanching the halves in boiling water with salt and oil for two minutes to remove bitterness.
- The filling is made by mixing minced pork with aromatics (scallions, ginger) and seasonings, then adding diced carrots and the squeezed bitter melon pulp before mixing thoroughly until tacky, followed by adding oil and starch for binding.
- The prepared meat mixture is rolled into balls and placed on squares of pressed, firm tofu on a steaming plate.
- The dish is steamed over high heat for 15 minutes.
- A sauce is prepared by sautéing diced red chili and minced garlic in hot oil until fragrant, then adding a premixed liquid of soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, starch, and water, cooking until thickened, and finally pouring this sauce over the steamed meatballs and tofu.
- The final dish is garnished with chopped scallions, offering a fresh, savory taste where the sweetness of the carrot balances the slight bitterness of the bitter melon.

![Screenshot at 00:04: A hand cuts the end off a bitter melon, initiating the preparation process for the main vegetable component of the dish.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-00-04.jpg)

**Context:** This video tutorial demonstrates how to prepare a savory Chinese dish featuring meatballs stuffed with vegetables and served atop tofu. The primary challenge addressed is mitigating the inherent bitterness of the main vegetable component, bitter melon (kugua), which is done through a specific preparation process involving seeding and blanching before mixing it with the pork filling.

## Detailed Analysis

The video presents a step-by-step tutorial for making stuffed bitter melon meatballs served over tofu. First, the bitter melon is prepared: the ends are trimmed (00:05), it is halved lengthwise (00:10), and the bitter pith and seeds are scooped out using a spoon (00:13). To reduce bitterness, the hollowed bitter melon is blanched in boiling water with salt and oil for two minutes (00:23-00:26), then drained (00:27). Next, the filling is prepared: minced pork is seasoned with chopped scallions (00:38), grated ginger (00:47), soy sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce (00:56), soybean paste (01:03), pepper (01:05), and finally starch (01:08). The previously prepared bitter melon pulp (after squeezing excess water out using a cloth, 01:41-01:49) and finely diced carrots (01:23) are mixed into the seasoned pork until tacky (01:11). This mixture is then formed into balls and placed on blocks of firm tofu arranged on a steaming plate (02:27-02:43). The dish is steamed over high heat for 15 minutes (02:45). While steaming, a sauce is created by sautéing finely diced red chili and garlic in hot oil (03:28-03:33). A slurry made from soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, starch, and water is added to the wok and cooked until thickened into a glaze (03:35-03:40). Once the meatballs are steamed, the hot sauce is generously poured over them (03:49), and the final dish is garnished with chopped green onions (04:00), yielding a dish that is savory, with the sweetness of the carrots balancing the slight bitterness of the melon.

### Bitter Melon Preparation

- Trim ends and remove pith (00:05-00:16)
- Halve bitter melon (00:10)
- Blanch for two minutes in salted, oiled water to remove bitterness (00:24-00:27)
- Squeeze out excess water using a cloth (01:41-01:49)

### Meatball Filling Preparation

- Combine minced pork with scallions (00:38), grated ginger (00:47), soy sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce, soybean paste, pepper (00:54-01:06), and starch (01:08)
- Mix in squeezed bitter melon pulp and diced carrots (01:53-01:56)
- Mix until tacky and set aside (01:11)

### Assembly and Steaming

- Form filling into balls (02:29)
- Place balls on cut squares of firm tofu on a plate (02:36-02:43)
- Steam over high heat for 15 minutes (02:45)

### Sauce Preparation

- Sauté diced red chili and minced garlic in hot oil (03:28-03:33)
- Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, starch, and water to create a slurry (02:59)
- Add slurry to the wok and cook until thickened (03:35-03:40)

### Finishing and Serving

- Pour thickened sauce over the steamed meatballs and tofu (03:49)
- Garnish with chopped scallions (04:00)
- The resulting flavor profile is savory and fresh, with the carrot's sweetness offsetting the mild bitterness of the melon (04:12-04:16)

![Screenshot at 00:00: Initial ingredients displayed: two bitter melons and a block of tofu.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-00-00.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:13: A spoon is used to scoop out the white, bitter pith and seeds from the halved bitter melon.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-00-13.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:36: White scallion stalk is being thinly sliced on a wooden cutting board.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-00-36.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:07: Starch is added to the seasoned ground meat mixture \(pork, scallions, ginger, sauces\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-01-07.jpg)
![Screenshot at 02:24: The firm tofu is cut into uniform squares and arranged on a plate for steaming.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/CKbp7TMR0N0/00-02-24.jpg)