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Winter Melon Soup with Smoky Ham
PAIR WITH
Flaky Green Onion Pancakes
(PAGE 139)
I fell for this soothing Cantonese soup years ago at an upscale restaurant in Chinatown in San Francisco. When I was seated, the waiter presented me with the customary cup of soup and a menu. I was relieved to discover that instead of egg drop soup, he had brought me winter melon soup—rich chicken broth with chunks of silky, almost translucent winter melon floating in it. Though the winter melon didn’t have much flavor of its own, it absorbed the flavor of the rich broth and had a soft, soothing texture, which I’ve come to crave on cold winter nights
.
Look for winter melon at Asian markets, where the large, light green melons are often broken down and sold in manageable chunks. They are labeled
tung gwa
or
dong gua
in Chinese markets and
bí đao
in Vietnamese shops. If you can’t find winter melon, substitute peeled and cored chayote squash
.
SERVES
4 TO 6
ACTIVE TIME
20
MINUTES
TOTAL TIME
40
MINUTES
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1
1
/
2
cups [360 ml] boiling water
1
1
/
2
lb [680 g] winter melon or chayote squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into
1
/
2
-in [12-mm] chunks
6 cups [1.4 L] vegetable or chicken broth
(see page 17)
1
/
2
cup [45 g] ca
3 oz [85 g] smoked Canadian bacon, cut into matchsticks 2 in [5 cm] long
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1
/
8
tsp ground white pepper
Soy sauce, for seasoning
2 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1.
In a small bowl, combine the mushrooms with the boiling water.
Place a smaller bowl on top of the mushrooms to keep them entirely submerged, and soak until they are soft, about 20 minutes.
Drain the mushrooms, discard the stems, and thinly slice the caps.
2.
While the mushrooms soak, combine the winter melon, broth, bamboo shoots, Canadian bacon, ginger, and sugar in a large soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the winter melon is nearly translucent and feels tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
3.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 1 Tbsp cold water.
Add the mixture to the soup along with the sliced mushroom caps and the white pepper.
Simmer until thickened slightly, about 1 minute.
Season with soy sauce.
4.
Ladle the soup into soup bowls and garnish with the green onions.
Serve immediately.
GET AHEAD:
You can keep the mushrooms in their soaking liquid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The cooled soup can be kept in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This soup does not freeze well.