I was inspired to make this soup one day when I walked by the wet mart and saw the vendor carving up this giant fresh winter melon and I thought, “Gosh, that’s be amazing to use!”.  I didn’t want to make a soup that day, but really wanted something savory, tasty, and soft.  So another way to make winter melon is to stew it!  And normally, you can pair winter melon with Chinese ham, but I went for a western spin and decided to make a fusion version with Parma Ham instead (which is equally salty).

Ingredients

• 1 slice of fresh winter melon (about 2-3 inches thick is good)
• 1 bowl of smaller dried Chinese mushrooms
• 1 bowl of fresh, cored gingko bilobas
• 1 pack of Parma Ham
• 9-10 cloves of fresh garlic
• A sprinkling of preserved Chinese vegetables

Cooking Instructions

1. Start by soaking the Chinese mushrooms in room temperature water for about an hour to soften them
2. I like to use giant butcher’s knives for chopping most things because the weight and leverage just lessens the work!  Chop your winter melon into large-sized pieces, removing the seeds and keeping the skin.  This will help keep in place as it softens in your stew and not disintegrate into a million pieces and become blah…
3. The go about removing the ends of the mushrooms.  A sharp knife or kitchen scissors will do the job!
4. In your soup pot, with a bit of oil and on medium heat, pan fry the garlic cloves until they are brown (and smell yummy!), then you toss in the mushroom and pan fry for about 3 minutes.
5. Drop in the gingko bilobas and also fry for 3 minutes
6. Then you extract the Parma Ham and just place it on top of the other ingredients and stir slightly
7. Add in 2 cups of boiling water and a sprinkling of Chinese preserved vegetables and mix it altogether
8. Cover and boil for 45 minutes, stirring every once in a while so it doesn’t stick, or that you still have enough liquid in the pot

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