Takeaway: Stories from a childhood behind the counter by Angela Hui

Author:Angela Hui [Hui, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781398705579
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2022-07-20T23:00:00+00:00

Shark Fin’s Melon (Figleaf Gourd) and Pork Soup

For some much-needed quick-fix comfort for the bad days when everything goes wrong or the good days when you deserve a little TLC, tong (Cantonese soup) always has your back and it’s there to provide a hug in food form. Despite this soup’s name, it resembles more of a squash or a courgette than a melon. When cooked, the melon flesh will turn to strands resembling shark fins, similar to a spaghetti squash, which you can buy from most supermarkets, Asian supermarkets or greengrocers. If you want to make this veggie or vegan, use 100g of rinsed black eye beans and five soaked shiitake mushrooms and its soaking liquid in place of the pork and scallops to replicate the rich, savoury and umami flavour. This is a wet and cooling type of soup, which means it’s good for healing sore throats, coughs or, when the lungs are too dry, this soup can help lubricate to get you feeling fit as a fiddle again.

Serves: 4–5 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

½ shark fin melon (if you can’t find one, other hardy squashes work just as well, such as winter melon, spaghetti squash or pumpkin); reserve the other half for another time

1.2 litres cold water

2 pork bones

2 pork ribs

A handful of dried scallops

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced

1 sweet corn, cut to chunks

2 honey red dates

6 red dates

1 tbsp wolfberries soaked in a bowl of water until puffy, drained

1 tsp bitter almonds (optional)

Method:

1. Cut the shark fin melon into big chunks. This way, you’ll have longer ‘noodle strands’ when the soup is done. Leave the skin and seeds on, they’ll help enhance the flavour of the soup. Once cooked they’ll go soft and they’re perfectly edible, too.

2. Add all the ingredients into a pot and use enough water to submerge everything you want with about 1–2cm of water above the ingredients. Bring the soup to a rolling simmer on high heat, then turn down to low heat and boil for two hours.

3. Sieve, serve and drink immediately, or it can be kept in an airtight container for 3–4 days or frozen for up to a month.

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