Bittergourd Vermicelli Soup 苦瓜米粉汤

Thank you Tsewei for sharing this - it's so easy to cook, comforting, soupy and healthy! 

Serves 2

Ingredients
Garlic - 5 whole cloves (do not need to remove skin or cut into smaller pcs)
Ikan bilis - 50g
Soya bean (黄豆）- 200g
Fish balls - 10
Minced pork / sliced fish - 200g (or both if you want a hearty meal!)
Carrot - 1 (cut into smaller pieces)
Bittergourd - about 1/3 to 1/2 of a mid size one (halved over the length of it and cut into thin slices)
Chye Sim - 4 bunches (washed thoroughly)
Dried vermicelli - 30g (in general, 10g / person is enough but with my hubby's good appetite, I use 30g for both of us).

Garnish
Spring onion
Fried shallot
Red cut chilli

Method
- Wash and pre-soaked the soya beans and ikan bilis for about half an hour.
- Marinate the fish / minced pork with light soya sauce and pepper. If using the latter, roll it into small meatballs. Leave aside or in the fridge.
- Boil about 2.5 soup bowls of water in a pot.
- Cook the soup stock by adding the soya beans, ikan bilis, garlic cloves and carrots into the boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cover the pot and leave to boil for about 1hour on medium heat.
- Soak the vermicelli in a separate bowl till it softens.
- When the stock is ready, you can sieve out the ikan bilis and soya bean which I'll usually do. You can leave them in the soup if you like the extra crunch.
- Add the bittergourd and continue boiling for about 15 mins, or longer if you like it more bitter.
- Add the fishball and fish/meat, cook for 2mins and add the vermicelli. Add abit of olive oil, salt or light soya sauce and pepper to taste.
- Lastly, add in the chye sim. Turn off the heat when the soup is boiling.
- Serve while piping hot.

Note
This is a very versatile dish. You can add in any other vegetables or ingredients you like!