Winter Melon Soup Recipe 冬瓜湯 Wax Gourd Soup

Winter melon soup is prepared with winter melon as a primary ingredient and is a part of Chinese cuisine and the cuisine of Hong Kong. It is served often at Chinese banquets.

Winter melon soup may have a slightly sweet flavor. Some recipes may use several ingredients in addition to winter melon, which may include ham, carrot, mushrooms and chicken. Winter melon soup may be served hot, yet has been described as having a cooling effect upon the body when consumed.

Benincasa hispida, the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, winter melon, Chinese preserving melon[ and (Alu) Puhul, is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature.

In Chinese cuisine, the gourds are used in stir fries or combined with pork or pork/beef bones to make winter gourd soup, often served in the scooped out gourd, carved by scraping off the waxy coating. It is also chopped and candied as winter melon candy (dōng guā táng), commonly eaten at New Year festivals, or as filling for Sweetheart cake (lǎopó bǐng). It has also been used as the base filling in Chinese and Taiwanese mooncakes for the Moon Festival.

Happy Cooking,
UB

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