Name: The Whole Winter Melon Pond (冬瓜盅)
Yield: This soup can easily serve 10 people as a sumptuous soup course.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 cup diced bamboo shoots; ½ cup diced water chestnuts (optional); ½ cup diced cooked Smithfield ham; 10 dried black Chinese mushrooms; 1 whole winter melon, about 7 or 8 pounds; 1 cup canned gingko nuts; 6 to 7 cups rich chicken stock; 2 cups diced chicken breast, velveted in water; Light soy sauce and salt to taste; 1 cup frozen peas, parboiled 2 minutes, or cooked fresh peas; 1 tablespoon minced cooked Smithfield ham

Preparation info

This soup can easily serve
10
people as a sumptuous soup course.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Key to Chinese Cooking

By Irene Kuo

Published 1977

About

This is a truly “big affair” for a banquet—a very delicate soup with a very impressive bearing. It is not at all complicated, but it does take a good deal of time. You can do all the preparations except cutting the melon a day in advance, however.

Ingredients

1 whole winter melon, about 7 or 8 pounds
10 dried black Chinese mushrooms

Method

Melon

Select a well-formed oblong-shaped winter melon with a small stem on top. Scrub it clean under cold running water to remove any dirt and the white film. Using a sharp knife, cut off a lid about 2½ inches deep from the top. With a paring knife make tiny V-cuts along the edge of the melon