Winter melon tureen soup with night fragrant flowers

Ingredients

Method

Not a standard boiling method: a whole section of winter melon is hollowed out into a tureen, filled with the ingredients and superior stock, then double-boiled (隔水燉, set in a pan of simmering water) for 2 hours, with the night fragrant flowers scattered in for the last 5 minutes.

1. Cut a large section of winter melon and scoop out the pith and seeds to make a tureen.
2. Dice the shiitake, lean pork, dried scallops, fresh lotus seeds, Job's tears, straw mushrooms and the other fillings, then blanch them (汆水, a quick boil).
3. Put the fillings into the melon tureen and pour in superior stock to about eighty per cent full.
4. Double-boil the whole tureen (隔水燉, set in a pan of simmering water) for 2 hours until the melon flesh is soft right through.
5. Scatter in the 夜香花 (night fragrant flowers) 5 minutes before serving, give it a short further cook and it is ready.

Who it suits

• people feeling the summer heat
• people with a poor appetite in summer

Who should take care

• Those who are weak and cold should drink only a little
• Pregnant women should leave the Job's tears out (Job's tears calls for caution in pregnancy)
• People with gout should drink only a little (dried scallops and superior stock are high in purines)
• People with high blood pressure should watch the sodium (superior stock and dried scallops are high in sodium, especially shop-bought ready-made stock)

Soup stories

The showpiece labour of love soup of the Hong Kong home kitchen at the height of summer, timed to 大暑, the Great Heat. The soup is cooked inside the whole melon itself, and the night fragrant flowers are scattered in only as it goes to the table so the scent survives.

From the same family

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.