Hairy melon rounds stuffed with fish paste

Ingredientsserves 4

Equipment

• A steamer, or a wok with a rack and lid, and a plate. No rack: stand the plate on an upturned shallow bowl in the wok.
• A spoon for hollowing and stuffing. Nothing else.

How the time splits

1. 20 minScrape, cut and hollow the melon; beat the pastehands on
2. 5 minThe empty rounds steam softhands off
3. 10 minDust and stuffhands on
4. 10 minIn the steamerhands off
5. 5 minMake the sauce and spoon it overhands on

Method

1. Scrape the fuzz off the melon lightly with the edge of a spoon, keeping the green. Cut it into rounds 2 cm thick and scoop the seedy core out with the spoon, leaving a floor at the bottom; do not go through.
2. Add the spring onion, coriander and white pepper to the fish paste and beat it hard in one direction until it turns sticky and elastic. The bounce is made by the beating; underbeaten, it steams up crumbly.
3. Lay the empty rounds on the plate and steam them for five minutes until just soft. Pour off the water and dry the insides with kitchen paper. This softens the melon and gives the paste something to grip.
4. Dust the inside of each round with a thin layer of cornflour, oil the spoon, and press the paste in, mounding it a little on top. Skip the dusting or the first steam and the paste pops straight out of the ring in the steamer, which is the usual way this dish goes wrong.
5. Put the plate in over fully boiling water and steam eight to nine minutes, until the paste is white and firm and the melon has gone translucent. Nine minutes is enough for a 2 cm round; much longer and the paste turns rubbery.
6. Tip the plate liquid into a small pan, top it up with water to about a bowlful, add the oyster sauce, sugar and goji, and bring it to the boil. Thicken lightly with the cornflour slurry and spoon it over the melon.

Take care

• Fish; the oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster), soy and wheat. The prawn-and-pork version contains crustaceans and sesame, and the pork must be steamed until it is cooked through at the centre with no pink.

The story

A yum cha lunch plate and a summer dish at home, made most when hairy melon is in season. It is the gentlest page on this wall: no hot oil, nothing overnight, fifty minutes to the table. It is here so a family can learn how stuffing works before they try it on a fish: get the melon rings to hold, and then take on boning a fish for 釀鯪魚. The site's 煎釀三寶 and 節瓜粉絲蝦米 are its two neighbours.

Same kind

Crackling roast pork bellyBraised shiitake in oyster sauceConpoy and whole garlic, steamed and turned out

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.