Chinese Wintermelon

Chinese wintermelon (Benincasa hispida) is grown for its thick, white flesh. The plant belongs to the Cucumber Family. It looks like a large watermelon and has a dark, waxy green skin. The flesh and seeds are white. The melon seeds are planted sometime in March in Southern California when all danger of frost has passed. With a soil temperature between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the seeds will germinate in about a week. It continues to grow during the summer and autumn months and can be stored and eaten during the winter months. There are two types: round and oblong. The fruits range in size from 8 to 12 pounds.

Wintermelon has a mild, sweet taste. It is great in soups and stir-fried foods. When mixed with other ingredients, the flesh absorbs all the subtle flavors. A very popular Chinese dish is wintermelon soup which is served in a carved out wintermelon rind. Wintermelon is also used in sweets.

My mother claims that the wintermelon is good for your kidneys since it appears to act as a diuretic (increases secretion of urine)

Listed below is a sample recipe for Chinese Wintermelon Soup. Try it out and see if you like it.

Chinese Wintermelon Soup

4 cups chicken broth

1-teaspoon fish sauce

1/4 pound shrimp (may substitute chicken, ham or pork, cut into small pieces)

6-8 dried shiitake mushrooms

1/2 pound of wintermelon cut into bite-size chunks

Napa cabbage

1/4 pound bamboo shoots

2 slices fresh ginger cut into thin slivers

Mung bean noodles

Chinese cooking wine to taste

White pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1-tablespoon chopped green onions

1-tablespoon chopped cilantro

Boil water, add wintermelon and cook until soft and translucent. Set wintermelon aside. Reconstitute the dried shiitake mushrooms by soaking in hot water for 20 - 30 minutes until softened. Squeeze out any excess water and slice mushrooms. Add reconstituted shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, mung bean noodles, salt, white pepper, ginger, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper, salt and fish sauce into the chicken broth. Add napa cabbage. Boil on high 2 to 3 minutes then simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Garnish soup with green onion and cilantro. Serve hot.