Speedy’s winter melon soup

November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ Connie

I had a kilo of pork spare ribs from which I made a huge pot of broth. There was also a whole winter melon lying around, the last of two, that one of our house helpers got from a worker in the subdivision. The worker harvested the winter melons from his own backyard, had more than his family could consume, and was nice enough to offer them to whoever was interested.

Winter melon soup

If the term winter melon does not sound familiar, it is none other than “kundol” — yes, the sugar-coated candied delicacy. Contrary to popular belief, “kundol” is not a fruit but a vegetable. The texture is similar to “upo”, or bottle grourd, but more watery and more translucent.

I used one winter melon for a soup dish several days ago and reserved the last one because my husband said he had a very good recipe for it. He use a portion of the broth I made with the pork spare ribs to make this winter melon soup. His recipe was very good indeed. Very economical, very tasty and very filling.

Serves 6.

Ingredients :

1 large winter melon
8 to 10 c. of broth
300 g. of chicken thigh fillets
4 cloves of garlic
a thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 onion, peeled and chopped
150 g. of enoki (golden needle) mushrooms
patis (fish sauce)
salt
freshly-ground pepper
4 tbsps. of chopped onion leaves
4 tbsps. of vegetable cooking oil

Cut the chicken meat into half-inch cubes. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Peel the garlic and ginger. Grate very finely. Add to the chicken and mix, working the spices into the meat.

Cut off the skin of the winter melon. Scoop out the seeds. Cut the flesh into one-inch cubes. Place in a large pot and simmer for 20 minutes in just enough water to cover.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Saute the onion and cook until transparent. Add the chicken meat (including the marinade) and cook until no longer pink. Tip the contents of the frying pan into the simmering pot of winter melon. Pour in the broth, season with patis and more freshly-ground pepper, bring to the boil and simmer for another 20 minutes.

When cooking time is almost up, cut off the root ends of the golden needle mushrooms. Add to the pot, simmer for one minute then turn off the heat.

Sprinkle the winter melon soup with chopped onion leaves before serving.

September 22, 2008  Print This Post   
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Comments

3 Responses to “Speedy’s winter melon soup”
  1. Crisma says:
    September 22, 2008 at 5:30 pm

    This one reminds me so much of a heartwarming soup for those stormy nights—very comforting. Except for the new ingredient, the winter melon, everything looks so familiar. Brings back some childhood memories…;)

    Reply
  2. EbbaMyra says:
    September 22, 2008 at 11:50 pm

    Naku tiempo itong soup idea na ito; my neighbor just gave me 2 freshly picked upo from her garden. Actually, it was a 10-inch potted plant which I bought from a store, and since papunta akong Phils at the time and won’t have anybody to take care of it, I gave the plant to my neighbor, at inilipat niya sa ground. Eto na nga, she is harvesting. Eh mag-isa lang ako and I don’t know what to do with the upo. So, gagayahin ko itong recipe na ito, pati na yung mushrooms. Masarap sigurado ang dinner ko mamayang gabi.

    Reply
  3. [eatingclub] vancouver || js says:
    September 24, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    We did a “hairy gourd” soup just yesterday and Ning told us it was kundol. I never knew that kundol was also wintermelon. Cool.

    Reply
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