Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯

Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯 (dōng guā lì tāng) is a simplified or home version of the Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜盅 (dōng guā zhōng).  Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜盅 is a Cantonese classic dish that was an imperial dish during the Qing Dynasty.  The soup is steamed inside a winter melon which is put into a steamer, making it “double boiled 燉 (dùn)”.  During very festive occasions, the winter melon would have carvings on the sides making it a delicious masterpiece.  When I find a small, whole winter melon, I'll try to make a Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜盅.  I may even try carving something on it! But in the meantime, I’ll stick with the easy Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯.

Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯 is a perfect summer time soup.  In Chinese herbology, winter melon is prescribed to rid the body of heatiness, reduce swelling, weight loss, strengthen lungs, improve digestion and a hundred other things!  Best of all, it’s refreshing, light and nutritious.  It’s high in vitamins C and B2 as well as other minerals.

I made this recipe with simplicity in mind.  Here in Vancouver, we just experienced an extreme heat wave, temperature was in the 40’s.  I, for one want to minimize my time in the kitchen when it’s that hot!  Although this is a soup, it has a natural cooling effect in your body which makes this soup perfect during heat waves.  You may even want to make it as a meal.  You can add more ingredients to make it heartier.  Mung bean vermicelli or glass noodles go really well with this too.  But just add a bit more liquid to it as vermicelli and glass noodles will absorb a significant amount of the soup.

Give this super easy Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯 recipe a try and see how hot soup can actually cool you down!

Love winter melon? Try my Steamed Winter Melon with Pork 瑤柱豬肉片釀冬瓜 recipe. It's my own creation and is now one of my favourite dishes to eat and to make!

Diced Winter Melon Soup 冬瓜粒湯

Besides dicing the winter melon, you may also choose to grate it to give the soup a thicker consistency.

Other ingredients commonly added are shrimp, scallops, straw mushrooms, dried shrimp, abalone, Cantonese BBQ duck, crab, lotus nuts and Jinhua Ham.

I made a separate broth using pork bones as the base broth. You can also use water, but you will need to add some flavour enhancers such as Jinhua ham, chicken powder, abalone sauce, oyster sauce or MSG if you don’t want it to taste watery.

You may also want to thicken it at the end with a corn starch or water chestnut starch slurry. I didn’t add a slurry to keep it as simple as possible.

Approximate cost (CAD) $10

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine Cantonese, Chinese

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 126 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1.2 kg Winter melon
• 300 g Pork loin or chicken breast
• 8 Shiitake mushrooms (dry ones are more flavourful than fresh ones)
• 4 Dried scallops
• 1.5 L Broth
• 2 tsp Salt

Ingredients for pork or chicken marinade:

• 1 tsp Light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp Cornstarch

Instructions

 

• On night before, soak shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops
• Slice off skin and remove seeds (including the inner membrane) from the winter melon.
• Dice and set aside
  
• Remove stems of shiitake mushrooms. Dice and set aside. You can add the stems into the soup but remember to remove them before serving. They are very fibrous and difficult to chew
  
• Dice pork loin or chicken breast I used chicken breast here
• Marinate pork or chicken with 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp Shaoxing wine and 2 tsp cornstarch. Mix well and set aside
  
• In a pot, add 1.5 L broth, diced winter melon, diced shiitake mushrooms (with soaking water), dried scallops (with soaking water), bring to a boil using high heat, then turn down to low heat and simmer for 45 minutes with lid
  
• After 45 minutes, give the diced pork or chicken a mix and add to the soup. Give it a gentle stir to break up the pieces. Don’t stir too much as it will cause the marinade to come off. Simmer for the remaining 15 minutes
  
• Taste test and add salt.
• Serve

Nutrition

Calories: 126kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 14gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 2312mgPotassium: 279mgFiber: 6gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 533IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Dried Scallops, Pork, Pork Loin, Shiitake Mushroom, Soup, Winter Melon

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