Winter Melon Soup

April 29th, 2011 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes | No Comments

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BackWinter melon soup is one of my favorite soups. I find it extremely nourishing and cooling, especially now that I am down with a cold. Winter melon has a very mild taste so its hard to make it into a flavorful soup unless you add in extra ingredients. Other than pork ribs, I boil my winter melon soup with a trio of dried seafood: dried scallops, oysters, and shrimp. To rid the potential fishy taste in the soup, I add some freshly cracked white peppercorns to spice up the flavo. Another secret ingredient that I always use in Chinese soups is dried honey date or , an inexpensive that lends a subtle and sweet fruity note to soupsThe Cantonese believe that soups are tonic and rejuvenating. There is a saying in Cantonese that women need to take tonic or else they will age fast (). I am a firm believer and will share more soup recipes with you here on Rasa Malaysia.

Winter Melon Soup RecipeIngredients:8 cups water
8 oz pork ribs, cut into riblets
1 1/2 lbs winter melon, cut into small pieces, skin removed
2 dried scallops
6 dried oysters
1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked in water water for 10 minutes
1 dried honey date
1 teaspoon white peppercorn, lightly pounded with a mortar and pestle or the back of a Chinese cleaver
Salt to taste, optionalMethod: Bring the water to boil in a deep pot. Add the pork ribs and boil for 5 minutes before adding the winter melon, dried seafood, and honey date. Continue to boil on medium heat for 15-20 minutes before lowering the heat to low. Discard the foam at the top of the soup. Keep boili! ng the s oup on low heat for about 45 minutes or so or until the soup is full of the sweet flavor of all the ingredients. Add salt to taste. If you like, you might add some more water and bring the soup to boil before serving.