Beat the Heat with Winter Melon Soup

Winter melon soup with seafood on top

Everyone's feeling the heat this summer, and a good way to cool down is by having winter melon soup.

Winter melons are like oval-shaped watermelons, but are far from sweet. The flesh is rather neutral-flavoured, which makes the taste of the soup broth vitally important.

A basic winter melon soup with mushrooms

Having this soup at this time of year helps remove the dampness from our bodies, and counteract heatiness or "yeet hay" (熱氣). If you've been eating too much fried food, lychees, or spicy dishes, winter melon soup will balance things out, ie prevent or lessen the chances of having a sore throat or breakout in pimples.

In fancy Chinese restaurants, the soup is served in the melon itself -- the top is carefully carved open like a pumpkin for Halloween, and then the flesh is scooped out and when the soup is ready, it's placed back into the melon, which is presented in large silverware shaped like the gourd.

The soup is also relatively easy to cook at home. First remove the hard skin of the winter melon and chop the flesh into cubes. Heat up some water in a large pot and when it's boiling, add the winter melon and some clear chicken stock or blanched pork bones.

A carefully carved winter lemon

Other ingredients that can be added include mushrooms, dried scallops, ginger, and barley, and let it simmer for about an hour or so. Towards the end add chopped seafood like shrimp or fish. Some restaurants include fresh crab meat.

Some recipes call for adding egg white and cornstarch to thicken the soup, while others keep the broth relatively clear.

The bowl of winter melon soup I had the other day had mushrooms and bits of pork, and it hit the spot.