Winter Melon & Meatball Soup (Dong Gua Wan Zi Tang)

The story

This is the soup Chinese families make when someone needs gentle food — light, clear, faintly sweet. Winter melon turns translucent and silky as it cooks; the meatballs stay tender because they poach, never boil hard.

Ingredients (6 + pantry staples)

• Ground pork — 8 oz / 225 g
• Winter melon (or zucchini) — 1.5 lb / 700 g, peeled and chunked
• Ginger — 3 slices + 1 tsp grated into the meat
• Scallions — 1, sliced
• Soy sauce — 1 tbsp
• Cornstarch — 1 tbsp

Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): salt, white pepper, toasted sesame oil. Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.

Steps

1. Mix pork with grated ginger, soy, cornstarch, salt and 2 tbsp water in one direction until sticky.
2. Simmer melon with ginger slices in 6 cups / 1.4 L water, 10 minutes.
3. Drop in walnut-size meatballs with a spoon; poach 8 minutes at a bare bubble.
4. Salt and white pepper generously; scallions and sesame oil to finish.

Swaps

Winter melon is 🔶 at Asian groceries — zucchini is the honest substitute. Add glass noodles for a fuller soup.