homemade: winter melon soup, 冬瓜汤

[winter melon soup 冬瓜汤 - dong gua tang] a very simple, very broth-y soup. warms you up in the winter with a small bowl in your hands. yet, is also believed to help balance and cool your body during the hot summer months – and yes, i do remember the light beads of sweat forming from drinking this hot broth in the summer evenings after dinner..but may not remember its cooling effect very well. oh well, it’s soothing and good!

winter melon 冬瓜 (dong gua) has very little taste, if any at all really, is rather transparent and very transparent once boiled and in the soup, has a melt in your mouth texture. winter melon can be found in asian supermarkets all-year round. empty the pit area and seeds, slice the thin green outer layer off and cube the white flesh of the melon.

fill a pot about half full with chicken stock and place cubed winter melon in pot. bring to boil and let simmer on medium until melon is tender (about 10-15 minutes).

meanwhile, with ground pork – mix with dashes of corn starch, salt, sugar, white pepper, oil & a few drips of water. once melon is tender in the stock, add ground pork.

this is a jar of thinly sliced bits of preserved vegetable, a great way to salt this soup. otherwise, salt to taste.

winter, summer, in between, healthy or feeling a little under the weather – enjoy!