Winter melon soup recipes

Winter melon soup is reputed to be cooling and good for detoxification.

Winter melon (dong gua 冬瓜) is a fairly big round fruit with dark green skin. It looks like a water melon but is actually a squash. There is a variation with tough brown skin. Whatever the skin color, the flesh is pale white in colour with seeds in the center. It has little taste but absorbs the flavours of the food it is cooked with. It is best in soups or stew.

They are usually sliced cross-sectioned for cooking. Seeds should be removed before cooking.

In some chinese restaurants, the melon is used as a soup tureen. Skilled chefs would make a cut near the top of the melon and remove the flesh to make the soup. The outer skin is carved with fanciful motifs like dragons, phoenix and flowers. When the soup is ready, it is poured into the melon and served. If you are game to try this, there is a homemade recipe for it below called Steamed Winter Melon Soup.

Winter melon has a reputation as an excellent detoxifer and we all know that detoxification is a good start to losing weight. Try starting any weight loss diet plan with some winter melon soups.

Try some of these winter melon soups.

Winter melon soup with barley and goji berries

This soup helps eliminate excess fluid from the body. It is also supposed to help whiten the skin and get rid of acne. Barley helps to soothe the stomach and it is good if you have an easily irritable stomach. Omit the ginger if you really do not like it.

Ingredients
500g winter melon
1/2 cup barley (coix seeds)
150g prime pork ribs
1 tbsp chinese wolfberry (goji)
2 slices ginger
1000ml water

Directions

1. Wash the barley and soak for about 1 hour
2. Wash goji and soak for 20 minutes
3. Parboil the pork ribs with the ginger, trim off any excess fats
4. Cut and clean the melon
5. Bring the 1000ml water to the boil, add the pork ribs, melon pieces, barley and the goji
6. Bring the water and ingredients back to the boil, then lower to a simmer
7. Simmer for 1 hour
8. Turn off heat and cover pot and let soup stand for 10 minutes
9. Serve

Winter melon soup with shrimp

This soup is simple and relatively quick to prepare. For days when there's simply not enough time to simmer for over an hour.

Dried shrimps is a common chinese soup base ingredient. Instead of using bouillon cubes, you can try these to flavour your soups. They are basically very small shrimps, shelled and dried thoroughly.

Ingredients
600g winter melon
60g dried small shrimps (xia mi)
800ml water
salt to taste

Directions

1. Peel the melon. Remove seeds and cut into bite-sized cubes
2. Clean and wash the dried shrimps, soak in hot water for 20 mins
3. Bring the water to a boil, and add the dried shrimps and the water used to soak the shrimps
4. Let the shrimps boil for about 5 minutes
5. Add the melon and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes

Winter melon soup with crab meat

This is a really yummy dish. I like crab meat and it certainly goes well with the winter melon.

Ingredients
1000ml chicken stock
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
450g winter melon
5 tbsp cooked crabmeat

Seasoning
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Dash of white pepper
Directions

1. Peel and dice the winter melon
2. Soak and dice the mushrooms
3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot
4. Add the mushrooms and rice vinegar
5. Simmer for about 5 minutes
6. Add the winter melon pieces and cook for about 10 minutes
7. Add the cooked crab meat, stir and mix well
8. Add the coriander and pepper
9. Serve

Steamed winter melon soup

This recipe came from Terry Tan's The Asian Cook.

More details about this book is in my recommended book list. I love it for its down-to-earth description of cooking tools and techniques as well as great looking food photography.

Ingredients
1 litre of water
100g pearl barley
200g chicken breast, cubed
100g cooked or chinese ham, diced
150 g canned lotus seeds, drained
Salt and sugar to taste
finely chopped spring onion to garnish
1 whole winter melon

Directions

1. Bring water to boil, add the barley and simmer for 15 minutes
2. Cut the top third of the winter melon to be used as a lid later on
3. Scoop out the pith and the seeds as well as the flesh leaving about 2.5 cm thickness all the way around the inside of the shell
4. Place the chicken, ham and lotus seeds in to the simmering barley and continue to cook for about 15 minutes
5. Transfer everything into the melon shell. Be careful as it will be hot
6. Add salt and sugar to taste
7. Cover the melon with the lid
8. Place the melon into a steamer (that is, a big wok with a metal tripod) with boiling water
9. Steam for about 30 minutes
10. Remove from steamer
11. Garnish with spring onion and serve

Winter melon soup with coix seeds and pork

This is a healthy soup recipe for relieving the summer heat. Especially for those who feel thirsty all the time, has scanty urination and is experiencing a loss in appetite due to the heat.

Ingredients
50g coix seeds (barley)
3g dried tangerine peel (chen pi)
50g lean pork
salt to taste
400ml water

Directions

1. Wash and cut the winter melon unpeeled into middle-sized chunks
2. Wash the pork and parboil
3. Rinse the dried tangerine peel
4. Wash and soak the coix seeds in cold water for 30 minutes
5. Place all the ingredients in an earthern pot (such as a claypot or slow cooker)
6. Add 400ml water to the pot and bring to a boil
7. Lower heat and summer until contents are cooked
8. Add salt to taste before serving

Eel soup with winter melon

Scientific research has shown that eel contain 2 types of substance that can control and regulate the sugar level in blood. Winter melon is diuretic and therefore quite good at relieving rheumatism caused by inflammation. A great combination as a dietary supplement for diabetics.

Ingredients
100g eel
200g winter melon
5g chinese angelica root
15g codonopsis root
15g goji berries
Dash of sesame seed oil
Pinch of pepper
Dash of soy sauce
800cc water

Directions

1. Clean the eel under running water and cut into smaller sections
2. Peel the winter melon, remove the seeds and cut into cubes
3. Wash the chinese angelica root, codonopsis root and goji berries
4. Place all ingredients into a claypot or slow cooker and add the water
5. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours
6. Add the seasonings before serving

Wintermelon soup with meatballs

Meatball soup with winter melon
This meatball soup is considered a quick soup. To lower the oiliness of the soup, skip the garlic browning part. Just boil the chicken stock and add the garlic.

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