Winter melon, 冬瓜(dōng gūa), or ash gourd, is a very popular melon that’s usually used to make soup. As per Chinese herbology, it is a diuretic, good for kidneys, high blood pressure and weight loss! (It had me at weight loss!) This recipe for Steamed Winter Melon with Pork 瑤柱豬肉片釀冬瓜 is definitely a must try!
My inspiration to create this dish came from the “Double boiled winter melon soup” or 冬瓜盅(dōng gūa zhōng) that a friend of mine treated me to. This soup is a famous Cantonese winter melon delicacy. Hence, I wanted to make something similar at home but at a smaller scale and not a soup. I bought a cross section of a winter melon, added dried scallops, pork, vermicelli, garlic and abalone sauce. And I think I nailed It! So, if you like steamed foods and the subtle taste of the winter melon, you have to try this dish!
My Steamed Winter Melon with Pork 瑤柱豬肉片釀冬瓜 recipe uses a cross-section of a winter melon. The melon acts as a container for the meat. In addition, steaming the pork inside the hole and on top of the winter melon allows the winter melon to absorb the flavors from the meat. The meat, steamed alongside the moist winter melon, results in a tender and moist texture with a subtle taste of garlic. The rice vermicelli is a sponge that absorbs the excess liquids. The liquids consists of all the juices from the meat and melon as well as the aroma from the garlic. I, then, top it off with a delicate yet flavourful dried scallop and abalone sauce that brings all the flavours together.
This is an incredibly impressive dish that I almost don’t want to share the recipe for! Your family and guests will think that you ordered it from a fancy restaurant, if I do say so myself! Surprisingly, it’s very simple to make. Most of the time will be spent on steaming the winter melon., at which time you can be free to do other more exciting things!
Looking for more dishes to go with dinner? Try my recipes for Honey Soy Chicken 蜜汁豉油雞扒 or Prawns in Sweet Soy Sauce 豉油皇煎蝦.
Steamed Winter Melon with Pork 瑤柱豬肉片釀冬瓜
Ingredients
- 1 piece Winter melon cross section (2-3 lbs)
- 400-450 g Sliced pork
- 1 bunch Mung bean vermicelli (approx. 30g)
- 4-6 cloves Garlic , minced
- ½ tsp Salt for marinade
- 1 tbsp Sweet potato starch
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- 4 Dried scallops , soaked in water overnight and pulled apart
- 2 tbsp Abalone sauce
I prefer using Lee Kum Kee Abalone Sauce - ½ tbsp Dark soy sauce
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt for sauce.
Add if needed. Depends on how salty your abalone sauce is - 2 tsp Corn starch
- 60 ml Water (for slurry)
- 200 ml Water from soaked dried scallops
- ½ stalk Green onions , chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Wash 4 dried scallops and rehydrate them in 200 ml of water and let sit overnight. Or soak in hot water for at least 1 hour
- Pull the dried scallops apart to get thin pieces. Leave the pulled-apart scallops in the soaking and set aside
- Rehydrate a small bunch of mung bean vermicelli in a bowl of water for 30 minutes. Cut into 2 cm pieces
- Cut off the skin and remove seeds and inside membranes of winter melon. Clean and put onto a steaming plate, cover with tin foil and steam at high heat or 100˚C or 210˚F for an hour
- In a small pan or pot, add 2 tbsp oil and fry garlic at medium heat until they turn a golden yellow colour. Remove from heat for later use
- In a mixing bowl, combine pork, minced garlic (and its oil), mung bean vermicelli, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper powder 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tbsp sweet potato starch and mix well
- After steaming the winter melon for an hour, pour out water
You can save this water for broth and fill ½ of the hole in the winter melon with the meat mixture and steam at medium-high heat (93˚C or 200˚F) for 30 minutes - Pour the scallops and water into a sauce pan. Turn heat to medium. Add 2 tbsp of abalone sauce, ½ tbsp dark soy sauce and ½ tsp sugar. Turn heat to low, cover with a lid and let cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn off heat and let sit until the winter melon is finished cooking
- After 30 minutes of steaming the winter melon, add the remainder of the meat mixture into the hole and also on top of the winter melon. Continue steaming at medium high heat (93˚C or 200˚F) for 45 minutes at or until meat is cooked
- When the meat on the winter melon is cooked, combine 2 tsp of cornstarch with 60ml water to make slurry and stir well
- Turn on heat for the scallop sauce, add slurry and mix well until the sauce thickens. Taste the sauce to determine if more salt is necessary. If so, add ¼ tsp at a time. Turn off heat
- Remove the winter melon from the steamer and pour out excess water
You can save this water for broth - Spoon the sauce over the meat on top of the winter melon and then sprinkle with green onions to garnish
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