What is Winter Melon and How to Cook it?

Have you ever walked through an Asian market and noticed this large melon with dark green skin and white flesh? It looks like an oblong watermelon and It is so big that the stores usually sell it pre-cut into smaller pieces. Do you wonder what it is and how to cook it?

This is called winter melon or 冬瓜 in Chinese, but you might hear it referred to as wax melon, ash gourd, or winter gourd. It is also a healthy, low-carb food so I want to show you the easiest and most delicious way to enjoy it - Braised Winter Melon with Dried Shrimp.

Ingredients
120g / ½ cup of water to soak the shrimp
680g / 1.5 lb winter melon, weighed after peeled and seeded
1.5 tbsp of cooking oil
1 shallot, diced
5 cloves of garlic, diced
3 Tbsps diced scallions as garnish

Instructions

Soak the dried shrimp in water for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid on the side.

Peel the winter melon, remove the fibrous strands and seeds, and cut the winter melon into bite-sized cubes.

Heat your wok over medium heat and add 1.5 tbsp of oil. Add the soaked dried shrimp, diced shallot, garlic, chili flakes, and Sichuan peppercorns to the wok and stir for 2 minutes.

Add 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, and the winter melon cubes. Keep stirring for 3 minutes.

Pour in the shrimp-soaking water. You can use vegetable stock if you want. Bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 6-8 minutes or until the winter melon becomes soft and tender.

Garnish it with some diced scallions and serve it as a healthy side dish.

[Alex-wnt]

I love to eat this whenever I travel to Thailand and Philippines. More recipes please.

[kathrynmcgarry]

I love what you said about the community you grew up in thats beautiful. ❤ Id love some more winter melon recipes, makes me want to grow some this year thinking of being able to share.

[michaelmckinley]

Yes, more Winter Melon recipes please!

[stevensantos]

Yes, please! More winter melon recipes. :)

[rm]

I loved hearing about your neighborhood experience. I wish more Americans in suburban environments felt like this!

[Oni_Dino]

Thank you for posting about winter melon! I will try this recipe soon.
When I was little, I worked in a family-run Chinese restaurant and the chef would always prepare family meals for us in the morning and the night. Having a warm winter melon side dish on cold autumn and winter mornings with congee was so comforting.
This video really brought back great memories I had forgotten. Thank you!

[mihaidimitriu]

I love wintermelon. I became accustomed to it during my four years of being on and off in Taiwan due to my work. I am now even growing one or two plants in my hobby farm every year. I don’t get very big wintermelons since my warm season is not very long, but they get big enough for our needs (and maybe one or two friends). Yes, please, please, please, more wintermelon recipes (both savory recipes and sweet recipes, please).

[DavidChow-nx]

In our family we would make Winter Melon herbal soup.
In a large soup pot filled pot with cold water about 3/4 full.
Add 5-7 small dry oyster, hydrated 2-3 dry oranges peel put into pot, rehydrate 4-5 Shiitake mushrooms wash mushrooms pour water into the pot. Diced mushrooms and set it aside, Peel some water chestnuts diced and set it aside.
Peeled winter melons and spoon out the seeds and cut them into 2-3 inch chunks. Place melon in cold water into pot.
Heat up the pot till boiled turn down to heat to simmer for about 30 min. to a 45 min. or when melon is still firm. Scoop melon out of the pot and (NOTE: if you don’t want to peel your melon in the beginning now is the time to separate the melon from the skin. It is easier and safer at this stage the melon is not as hard to peel.

(Forgot before you put the melon cube into the pot of cold water, wash off the skin of the melon completely to remove the white powdered on the skin. It will have an effect on the taste of the soup.)

Now let the melon cool for a minute or two before dicing up the melon to about 1/4-1/2 inches.

Along with the diced melon, add in the mushrooms, the water diced chestnuts, into the pot and bring it back to a boil and let simmer until the melon is Al dented to eat. About another 25-30 minutes, (test and see.)

At the restaurant we would add cornstarch to thicken the soup and scramble eggs and pour it slowly into the soup and add diced green onion mainly for presentation.

Great soup to impressive friends and family members at a Holiday party.

Add salt and white pepper to taste. At the restaurant we sometimes add a couple of dash of Chinese fish sauce for added taste.

Here you have a home version and a restaurant version.

(You know when the melon is done is when the melon is Al dented or lightly firm.)

Give it a try, Mama Chow was a great cook, she opened several restaurants in her life time.
“Bon Appetite!” 🙏🙏🙏

[jmchau]

I've seen winter melon pieces at the store but had no idea how to cook it. I would love more recipes.

[oldgoatsgarden]

Yes please more recipes. I have several winter melons from the garden to eat so more recipes keeps it from getting common. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful week.

[BetterYouBetterLifeLLC]

Oh yes please. More winter melon recipes.

[victorbenner]

I never heard about winter melon before. I'm intrigued by this new to me plant. So yes do more cooking with it. Im going to see if i can order some seeds. If I can't ill try getting seeds from some of the melon itself. Have a great day.

[KK-FL]

I like these types of videos where you show us how to use ingredients we might not know about

[divasg]

Yes. Love to have ways to cook winter melon.

[KevinW.Jenner]

Oh, yes! Now I know precisely what it is and what to do with it! I hear tell it helps to warm us up during these cold months.

I have only enjoyed a bowl or two of it but I can easily say it's delicious and so perfect as a light compliment to any meal. Thank you so much for presenting this soup, Mandy.

Please do post some more great winter melon recipes, so we can enjoy all the goodness one of those big curcurbits has to offer! Most excellent...

[Mx.ChaoticGood]

winter melon milk tea with boba is one of my all time favorites, but i'd never seen the actual melon before!

[LENNY]

Upteen years ago I was served a delicious soup IN a winter melon. We were told to sip the broth and then scoop a spoon of melon from the inside. All I can really remember was how good it tasted. I do remember the soup was steamed inside the melon, so it must have been smaller versions, or the ends of several. There were about 6 of us dining.

[justej]

Thank you so much for suggesting modifications to your recipes! I don’t eat shrimp but would love to make this with shiitake mushrooms 😊

[zetnnik]

Yay! This episode came out right on time — I got a slice from the Asian market yesterday. And I also just dehydrated some shrimps (also using your recipe) — I’m all set! 😊

[cynthiaracimo]

Thank you for this recipe. I've grown winter melon, and they're now fruiting, but here in the Philippines, we only make this as candy, and we do not usually use this as an ingredient in a dish. I'd love to give this recipe a shot.