The Whole Winter Melon Pond

冬瓜盅

Preparation info
  • This soup can easily serve

    10

    people as a sumptuous soup course.
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

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 inches deep from the top. With a paring knife make tiny V-cuts along the edge of the melon