Winter Melon Soup Seasoned with Mushrooms, Seafood, and Ham

Winter melon soup is soothing, and subtle, a study in close textures and flavors. The gourd softens silkily and becomes a translucent background. A modicum of shrimp bits, scallop slices, firm ham dice, and chewy shiitake nubbins punctuate, but none dominates, and no herbs or spices intrude. For banquets, the gourd becomes the famous “Winter Melon Pond”: The whole cleaned and decoratively incised gourd is steamed until tender, while the prepared soup heats inside.

According to Steph