Soup Name: Wintermelon with Lotus Leaf and Corn in Pork Broth
Traditional Chinese Name: 冬瓜湯 (dōng guā tāng)
Introduction:
There is one particular day in the summer where the Chinese call it the “hottest day of the month”. This is the soup for that day. When I went to the wet market that morning and wanted to make another soup, my veggie vendor told me to make this soup – without a doubt. It’s a cooling, heat-reducing soup for those really stuffy, hot days in the summer. You can use either pork or chicken (or both) and it may need a bit of salt because all the ingredients are mildly flavored, but it still tastes slightly sweet and natural without the salt.
Blanch pork in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes
Drain pork and set aside
Rinse wintermelon and slice with the skin on each piece
(Optiona) Cut corn into large pieces or slice kernals from the cob
Rinse gingko bilobas and lotus seeds into warm water
Start to boil your soup water
When your soup water is boiling, add all the ingredients together (including the kernal-less cobs)
Boil on medium heat for 1 hour and set in a thermal pot for another 3 hours
Serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
This soup is excellent for cooling down the body and heat from hot summer days
Any precautions?
Women in their first trimester of pregnancy should avoid as it is an extremely cooling soup and may cause contractions
Melon soups are best consumed within same day as keeping melon soups overnight or over an extended period will make the melons sour (and so will your soup!)
Traditional Chinese Name: 冬瓜龍眼素湯 (dōng guā lóngyǎn sù tāng)
Introduction:
A very light and delicious soup appropriate for hot, stuffy summers. It is refreshing (even though it’s hot) and slightly sweet with all the goodness of natural flavoring and ingredients. It is a meatless soup and a quick boil, so it’s super easy to make. Plus, it’s a great base for adding other ingredients such as corn, carrots, onions and I serve it with udon or noodles to make it a meal!
What ingredients are required?
3 fresh carrots, cut into large pieces 2 fresh corn, cut into large pieces 1 large slice of wintermelon, peeled and cut into large pieces 20 pieces of dried longan 2 L of water
How do I prepare it?
Soak dried longan in warm water for 10 minutes (or until soft)
Start boiling your soup water
Wash and prepare wintermelon, carrots, and corn (keep the wintermelon skin)
When soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
Boil on high for 30 minutes
Serve and enjoy! Salt if necessary.
Any benefits?
Oil free soup
Excellent source of protein and vitamins
Easy to make soup
Soup is ideal for hot summers and mildly cooling to relieve heatiness in the body
Wintermelon helps detoxify the skin and body and regulates sugar levels
Any precautions?
Wintermelon is a mildly cooling ingredient and should be cautiously consumed if in your first trimester of pregnancy or if you’re menstruating as cooling foods intensify cramping
If someone is experiencing diarrhea or loose stool, they should avoid consuming the wintermelon seeds
This quick boil soup is an excellent pre-dinner appetizer. With its slight sour tang and refreshing clarity, it is relatively easy to make and very healthy for the whole family. Depending on the type, brand and preservation process of the mustard greens, your soup color can range from pale yellow to a bright yellow (as picture above). With a variety of textures in the soup, it serves as a great supplement to dinner and is an excellent source of protein. This is considered a great summer soup.
What’s involved?
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 mins
Serves: 4 bowls
Ingredients
5-6 large slices of grass carp fish, preferably from the tail or backside
Soak the preserved mustard greens in warm water for 10 minutes
Wash and rinse your fish in running water, slice into large pieces (so that they don’t disintegrate as easily in the soup)
Pat dry with a paper towel and salt lightly
In a frying pan, heat oil until hot and fry ginger and fish slices until golden brown
Set aside the fish when finished (it doesn’t have to be completed cooked, but at least with lightly golden surfaces)
Boil your soup water
Rinse preserved mustard greens in running water and slice into edible pieces
Rinse tofu and cut into large pieces
Slice the century eggs in half
When the soup water boils, add ginger, fish, preserved mustard greens, and tofu together
Boil on high for 30 minutes
Any benefits?
Naturally salted because of the mustard greens, so no salt needed!
High source of protein and low in fat
Excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, and E, folic acid, calcium, carotenes, manganese, copper, potassium, iron and fiber
Great for your bones and plenty of anti-oxidant
Any precautions?
If you’re concerned about the level of saltiness of the preserved mustard greens, you can soak them longer (for at least an hour)
Be sure to buy preserved mustard greens from a reputable source and be sure to check the expiry date
Be sure to use stiff tofu as this is the only type that will sustain its shape and form when put in boiling water. Soft tofu will break apart, while still tastes OK, the soup doesn’t look as clean
Remove all the bones of the fish as I am not boiling with a fish bag (or take caution when serving children)
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Traditional Chinese Name: 祛濕清熱冬瓜湯 (qū shī qīngrè dōngguā tāng)
Introduction:
A must drink for the hot, stuffy summers. It helps cools the body, reduces heatiness and eliminates overheating. While mildly sweet and light to taste, this is a common and very popular soup in the Cantonese soup repertoire. There are a variety of ways to make this soup, but this is the most basic.
Wash and cut wintermelon into cubes (separate skin from meat) – skin is still added to soup
Rinse all other ingredients in warm water
Once soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
Boil on high for 30 minutes, reduce to a simmer for another 1.5 hours
Serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
Helps reduce heatiness in the body
Eliminates excess heat and helps cool the body
Any precautions?
Women in their first trimester of pregnancy should avoid as it is an extremely cooling soup and may cause contractions
Melon soups are best consumed within same day as keeping melon soups overnight or over an extended period will make the melons sour (and so will your soup!).
