Steamed Winter Melon with Ham

This dish is neither a soup nor a vegetable, but something in between—a slightly soupy vegetable that I serve in a bowl to accompany rather splendid dishes like duck, which needs to be paired with delicate, unfatiguing morsels. It is an exceptionally pretty dish in its quiet way, very subtle and smooth on the tongue.

• Winter melon is a vegetable, not a fruit as one might expect. It looks a bit like a tallish green pumpkin from the outside, but the inner pulp is