Shark's Fin Melon Soup (鱼翅瓜汤)

Fancy having a bowl of steaming and flavoursome shark fin's (melon) soup without having to kill any sharks?   After an hour or so of slow cooking, the flesh of this melon will disintegrate into fine 'noodle-like' strands which resemble shark-fin. 

Ingredients:


Stock:

3 litres water
1.5 kg pork bones, blanched
4 chicken carcasses, blanched
1 knob of giner
2 scallions

• Fill a stock pot with 3 litres of water and bring to the boil.  Put in chicken carcasses and pork bones which have been blanched.  Add in ginger and scallions.
• Bring it back to the boil and let simmer for about 2 hours or more.  
• Strain stock.

Note:  Stock can be stored in individual containers and freeze.  Convenient way for impromptu cooking - be it noodle soup or any other kind of soup.  

Shark Fin's Melon Soup:

1.5 lit stock
about 170g shark fin's melon
20g dried squid, washed and soaked
15g goji berries (or wolfberries)
20g dried shiitake mushroom, washed and soaked to soften
25g dried honey dates (蜜枣） or red dates
2-3 dried scallops, washed and soaked to soften
2 small carrots, cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste

• Cut melon into big chunks (without skin) and discard the seeds.
• Bring the stock to the boil and put in all the ingredients.  
• Simmer soup for about 60 - 90 mins.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve hot.