Chinese Winter Melon and Meatball Soup
Winter melon soup with juicy pork meatballs is a classic soup dish in Chinese households. It comes together from simple ingredients: some ground pork, a bundle of glass noodles, and a hunk of winter melon.
With clear, restorative broth and juicy, fortifying meatballs, this is a fan favourite in cold winter months. It’s rather straightforward to make, and with a bed of rice, makes for a perfect weeknight meal.
The Humble Winter Melon, or Wax Gourd
The winter melon (or wax gourd) is a mild-tasting member of the gourd family you can find in most Asian grocery stores.
It is cousin to the cucumber and zucchini; weird uncle to the pumpkin and squash. It can be tossed into stir frys or made into a sweetened paste for desserts. But its most common usage may be soups and stews. It tends to take the character of whatever you stew it with, and its bright, refreshing nature perfectly balances richer ingredients like pork and beef.
There are two schools of thought on how long to cook winter melon. Some like to give it a quick cook, like a blanching, so it remains crisp. Myself, I like to cook the winter melon within an inch of its life. I like it so mushy that I could gum my way through it… which, given that my fascination with soup began in my infancy, is probably an accurate account of my first experiences with this gourd.
Keys to this Recipe
1. Use ground pork with a healthy amount of fat. Fat is flavour. Cut it out completely and your meatballs taste like cardboard. Try to use ground pork with 25% to 35% fat. If the label does not tell you the fat percentage, look for visual cues: you want to see a healthy amount of white specks (fat), instead of a sea of lean pink meat.
Sometimes, grocery stores only carry lean ground (more about this in Epilogue, below). In moments of desperation, I will begrudgingly buy lean ground, take some fat from a cut like belly or shoulder, and manually mince the fat to add to the ground.
2. Whip it. To give your meatballs that bouncy, juicy, springy texture, whip the ground pork like there’s no tomorrow.
Table of Contents
1. Equipment & Ingredients
Ingredients (full list in Recipe Card)
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pot
- Chopsticks (substitute strong fork)
2. Step-By-Step Guide
FOR THE MEATBALLS
STEP 1: Make meatball mixture.
Finely mince ginger and green onions. Add to a big mixing bowl with all other “Meatballs” ingredients. Using chopsticks (or your bare hand), mix by stirring in one direction only. Start slowly to incorporate the ingredients, and gradually pick up speed until you’re whipping the mixture like it owes you money.
Mix for about 1-2 minutes. You’re done when the mixture looks paste-like and clings together rather than crumbling (see second picture below).
STEP 2: Shape meatballs.
With your bare hands, form meatballs around 1½” in diameter, which takes approx. 3 tbsp of mixture per meatball.
Place the formed meatballs on a plate and set aside.
FOR THE REST OF THE SOUP
STEP 3: Saute aromatics.
Heat vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until oil shimmers. Slice the ginger and roughly slice the white part ONLY of the green onion. When vegetable oil is shimmering, add ginger and green onion whites to pot and saute for 1 minute, or until the aromatics are slightly golden and their aroma has begun wafting through the air.
STEP 4: Add stock and winter melon.
Add the stock to the pot.
While waiting for the stock to boil, prepare the winter melon: remove its dark green rind and discard. Cut winter melon into bite-sized pieces – I cut them into pieces approximately ½” thick and 1 ½” wide.
When stock reaches a boil, add winter melon chunks. Wait until soup boils again, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-5 minutes, depending on how hard or soft you want the melon in the end. (I go for the full 5 – I like my winter melon so soft that it collapses under its own weight.)
STEP 5: Add meatballs and noodles.
Add meatballs to the soup and stir to prevent them from sticking. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Then, add your bundle of glass/mung bean noodles and simmer for 2 additional minutes, or until just before your desired done-ness for the noodles.
Halfway into this noodle simmer, use chopsticks to gently jostle the noodle bundle to loosen the strands and make sure they cook evenly.
STEP 6: Add seasonings, garnish, and serve.
Add ground white pepper and sesame oil. Turn off heat. Roughly chop cilantro, julienne the leftover “green” top of the green onion. Sprinkle both on top of soup and serve.
Sip and say “ahhh!”
3. Recipe Card
Chinese Winter Melon and Meatball Soup
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground pork with a good amount of fat e.g. 25%-35%
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 green onions
Rest of Soup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 6 cups Chinese chicken stock
- 1 thumb ginger approx 2 inches
- 1 green onion
- 1 bundle glass noodles aka mung bean vermicelli approx 50g /2oz
- 1 lb winter melon
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 bunch cilantro
Instructions
Meatballs
- Make meatball mixture. Finely mince ginger and green onions. In a large bowl, mix all “Meatballs” ingredients together with chopsticks or your bare hand in 1 direction. Start slowly to incorporate the ingredients, then pick up speed until you’re whipping it like it owes you money. Mix for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is pastelike and clings together rather than crumbles apart.
- Shape meatballs. With your hands, form meatballs around 1½” in diameter (approx. 3 tbsp of mixture). Put meatballs on a plate and set aside.
Rest of Soup
- Saute aromatics. Add vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until shimmering. Slice ginger and white part of green onion (reserve the “greens” for garnish). When oil shimmers, add ginger and green onion whites and saute for 1 minute, or until the aromatics are slightly golden and fragrant.
- Add stock and winter melon. Add stock and bring to a boil. While it heats, prepare the winter melon: remove the dark green rind, discard, and cut melon into bite-size pieces (e.g. ½” x 1 ½”). When stock reaches a boil, add winter melon chunks. Return to boil, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-5 minutes (depending on how soft you want the melon. I personally like it so mushy I could gum my way through it).
- Add meatballs and noodles. Add meatballs and stir to prevent them from sticking. Return to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add glass noodles and simmer for around 2 minutes, or until just before desired done-ness. Halfway through, gently jostle the noodles with chopsticks, to loosen the bundle and ensure an even cook.
- Add seasonings, garnish, and serve. Add ground white pepper and sesame oil. Turn off heat. Roughly chop cilantro, finely slice green parts of green onion. Sprinkle both on top of soup, and serve. Sip and say “ahhh!”
4. Epilogue
If you ever pass me in a grocery store meat aisle, there’s a good chance you’ll see me yelling about how all anyone wants to sell is lean ground meat. “The flavour is in the fat!!”
Yes, it’s probably bad for your health.
But it’s good for your soul.
