Winter Melon Soup Recipe

Winter melon (white gourd 冬瓜) is commonly used in Chinese home cooking. Even though the taste of winter melon itself is not sweet at all but a bit dull, many Chinese families like to use it. If winter melon is cooked with Chinese mushrooms and some meat, it absorbs all the flavours and tastes wonderful. Here’s a quick winter melon soup, very suitable in summers.  Many of my readers might have known that I am living down under. This photo was taken when I cooked the soup here in summer.

Ingredients:

• 1kg white gourd
• 8 Chinese dried mushrooms
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 slices ginger
• 100g lean pork, shredded
• 1 cup unsalted chicken stock
• boiling water to preference
• salt, to taste

Seasoning:

• 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
  
• 1/2 tsp cooking oil

Method:

1. Rinse mushrooms. Soak them in some water until softened. Drain and dry well, cut into dices. Reserve the soaking water. Peel winter melon and cut into cubes. Marinate pork with seasoning for 10 to 15 minutes. Prepare some boiling water.
2. Heat oil in a frypan. Sauté ginger until aromatic. Add mushrooms and stir fry for a while. Toss in diced winter melon. Add chicken stock and the soaking water, with some more boiling water to your preference. Bring to a boil. Add marinated pork and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt. Turn off heat. Stir in beaten egg. Enjoy!