Winter melon broth

Ingredientsserves 6

How the time splits

1. 1 hrSoak the dried scallops and mushrooms in warm waterhands off
2. 10 minSeed the melon and cut it into big pieces, skin onhands on
3. 30 minBring the stock up and simmer the melon until it turns translucenthands off

Method

1. Rinse the dried scallops and soak them in a bowl of warm water for an hour, then shred them; keep the soaking water. Soak the mushrooms until soft and cut off the stems.
2. Wash the melon skin, scoop out the pith and seeds, and cut it skin and all into pieces the size of your palm and two fingers thick. The skin keeps the pieces whole through the boiling. Divide them in two: one half goes in now, and the other waits for the second half of the night.
3. Bring the stock to the boil with the scallops and their water, the mushrooms and the ginger, add the first half of the melon, and simmer over a medium flame for twenty to thirty minutes, until the edges are translucent and a chopstick goes in, but the pieces still hold together.
4. Taste before you salt it; boxed stock is salty already, and it usually needs nothing more.
5. At the table, give everyone a piece or two of melon and a bowl of broth first, then put in the seafood: clams, prawns, scallops, fish slices. The broth is light, and seafood suits it best.
6. Winter melon boiled too long melts and clouds the broth, so eat the pieces as they soften, and put in the half you kept back around the middle of the meal.
7. The broth thickens and grows saltier as it boils. Top it up with boiling water, and after every top-up wait for a full boil before raw food goes in.

The short route

• Boxed chicken stock with half as much water, the melon and a few slices of ginger, simmered for twenty minutes; the dried scallops can be left out.
• In a hurry, soak the dried scallops in boiling water for twenty minutes, or use a small pinch of dried shrimp instead.

What goes in this pot

• Clams: done when they open; any that stay shut are thrown away
• Prawns: eat them when red and curled
• Scallops: out as soon as they turn white, or they toughen
• Fish slices: eat them when white, about a minute
• Chicken: sliced thin, eaten only when no pink remains
• Tofu: in early
• Fresh shiitake and enoki: in early; enoki needs at least two minutes

What to put in, and for how long ›

The sauce plate

Grated daikon with yuzu ponzuGarlic soy

Safe at the table

• Indoors, an induction plate or an electric hotpot is the safe choice. Australia’s gas safety regulators say butane cartridge stoves are for outdoor use only, because of the risk of carbon monoxide. If you do use one indoors, as Hong Kong homes do, keep it well ventilated, and never in a small or closed-up room.
• With a portable gas stove, never use a pot wider than the pot stand, about 20 cm at most unless the maker’s instructions allow more, and never one that reaches over the canister compartment. Never put two stoves side by side, and never leave one burning.
• Fit and remove the canister away from any flame or heat, with its notch facing up. Check for leaks with soapy water first, and do not use a stove that leaks or is damaged. Never put the stove on another cooker (an induction plate especially) or on anything hot, and put nothing between stove and pot that the maker did not supply: no foil, no extra stand.
• Buy a stove certified for Australia, set it on a level surface that will not burn, never on glass, and do not run it longer than the maker’s instructions allow. Keep sprays, lighters and paper well away. When you finish, turn it off, take the canister out and store it somewhere cool, dry and ventilated, never in a car or in the sun.
• Keep raw and cooked apart: use a separate pair of chopsticks or a slotted spoon for raw meat and seafood, and never eat from them.
• After topping the pot up, wait for it to come back to a full boil before anything goes in.
• Chicken, pork, liver and seafood must be cooked through before eating. Sliced pig’s liver needs at least three to five minutes at a full boil; Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety advises at least five minutes for seafood; clams boil until they open and then three to five minutes more, and any that stay shut are thrown away. Enoki boils at least two minutes and is never eaten raw.
• For pregnant women, children under five, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system: beef until no pink remains, and seafood for the full five minutes.
• Raw meat plates stay out no longer than two hours. Leftovers go into the fridge within two hours, keep no more than three days, and are reheated only once, until boiling hot.

Take care

• Dried scallop is a mollusc; the clams, prawns and scallops that go in are molluscs and crustaceans; some boxed stocks contain wheat (gluten) or soy, so read the label; the soy in the saucers contains soy and wheat.
• Buy clams live and throw away any that stay shut once cooked; cook chicken and seafood right through. At the table, wait for a full boil after every top-up before raw food goes in. On a hot day, keep raw meat and seafood in the fridge until the pot is on, bring it out in batches, and never leave it out for more than two hours.

The story

Winter melon soup is one Hong Kong families make often in summer, and as a hotpot base it is the pot you can face on a hot night: a clear, light broth that takes its savour from dried scallop and seafood. In Australia the winter solstice festival and Christmas both fall in the December heat, and when the family wants to gather round a pot without sweating over it, this is the base to use.

Same kind

Clear chicken brothHong Kong satay brothPeppery pork-bone broth

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.