Shanghainese Winter Melon Soup

Shanghainese winter melon soup
Some of the most popular Chinese soups I can think of are lotus root soup, winter melon soup, white carrot soup and watercress soup. These soups, which are simmered for at least 2 hours, are served in most restaurants. Every respectable Chinese housewife should be able to not just cook these soups, but cook them them well.

Chinese soups are easy to cook. Everything goes into the pot to be simmered for at least two hours or about four hours if it's double-boiled (soups are double-boiled in a ceramic tureen or crock which sits in a pot of water so the heat is indirect and very gentle, just like a bain marie). The Cantonese believe that 'long-boiled' soups invigorate and rejuvenate the body and people who have recovered from illness are made to drink lots of double-boiled soups.

Winter melon soup is one of my favorite soups, especially if the melon is the pandan-flavored winter melon. The whole house can be scented by the fragrance of the melon as the soup cooks. The most common way to cook winter melon soup is to simmer the soup with red dates, salted turnip and meat or bones, and the Cantonese will add a small handful of dried oysters although if a less robust but more refreshing soup is preferred, the dried oysters can be omitted. The Shanghainese winter melon soup is just as simple, but instead of dried turnip, salted young bamboo tips called "beeji" in Shanghainese and "bian jian sun" in Mandarin are used and Chinese ham replaces dried oysters. I've not found beeji in KK but they are found in Asian grocers in Australia and they keep well in the fridge. My daughter loves beeji like a dog loves bones. She's a true Shanghainese; they love bamboo. Beeji is crunchy-tender and fun to eat. It almost takes the limelight from the winter melon. I dig for the beeji in the pot more than I do the winter melon.

If you want a lighter, refreshing soup (Chinese soups are supposed to be such, to wash and clean the palate for the many varied dishes in a typical Chinese meal), a free-range chicken is best. I found a place to get REAL kampung chickens today (no, Yi, I didn't touch our pet chickens), and my soup turned out better than any I've made in a long time. I doubt that the kampung chickens sold in our wet markets are the real thing. They may be true kampung breed, but certainly not kampung-reared. Kampung-reared chickens are free to roam and feed on whatever they find while farmed kampung chickens are caged and feed on processed chicken feed. True kampung chickens have rather dirty-looking skin with lots of baby feathers still in the skin while farmed kampung chickens have smooth bald skin. True kampung chickens are also very skinny, weighing about 1.2 kg live. The truth will be revealed in the soup. Once you've tasted the real thing, you'll never go back to farmed chickens for your soups.

Shanghainese Winter Melon Soup
1 kg pork bones & meat or 1 x 1 kg kampung/village chicken, skinned
500 g piece of fragrant winter melon
100 g salted young bamboo tips, washed and soaked 10 minutes, repeat
a handful of red dates, washed
1 small piece (half a fist) of Chinese ham

Prep: The skin of the winter melon can be left on for extra fragrance but the Shanghainese don't seem to do that. Cut the melon into small chunks of about 4 cm squares. Trim off the hard end of the bamboo stem, if any. If using pork bones & meat, blanch them with boiling water.

1. Put the meat/bones into a pot, add water to cover with a clearance of about 5 cm. Add the ham, bamboo and red dates too and when the water boils, lower the heat until the soup simmers gently, covered.

2. After 1 1/2 hours, bring the soup to a rolling boil, add the winter melon and when the soup boils again, lower the heat and let the soup simmer gently for about 20 minutes, covered. Switch off heat and leave the pot covered.

3. Just before serving, re-heat the soup. Depending on how you like the soup and how much water has evaporated, you can add some water if necessary, but not too much or the taste will be diluted. There's no need to add salt as the bamboo and ham are salty.