Soup: Chinese Winter Melon Recipe with Dry Shitake Mushrooms and Ham

In San Francisco, we have many local farmers markets where we can buy tons of inexpensive exotic vegetable. I have gathered this recipe from visiting China a few years ago. This is a very simple and healthy recipe to make.

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of winter melon
• 4 dry shitake mushrooms
• 1/4 pound of thick ham (most tasty ones are from ham hock left over from the holiday)
• 2 pinches of salt
• 6 cups of water

Preparing ingredients:

• Dice the ham
• Soak dry mushrooms in a bowl of water for an hour, then cut them into slices
• Peel, take out seeds, then dice winter melon

Cooking instructions:

1. Pour water into a decent size pot and bring to boil
2. Add ham and dry mushroom into the stock
3. Let the stock boil for 5 minutes
4. Add winter melon into the stock
5. Let it boil for 4 minutes
6. Simmer the soup in medium heat for 7 minutes
7. Add two pinches of salt, or add however much salt you like per your taste preference