Winter Melon Soup

I'm back! This time though, nothing about business but a lot of stuff about cooking! I have decided to keep up with my blog and showcase the meals I cook for my fiance and I. I am not a chef, but a self proclaimed "pretty decent" cook =). I love to make ethnic food, especially from my heritage, Vietnam. I am not a stickler for tradition and likes to make my own twist to each dish. I like to make quick and easy meals, so do not expect to see a long list of ingredients for the dishes that I cook.

The first dish I will be showcasing for this blog is Shrimp Winter Melon Soup. It's a vietnamese staple dish. In Vietnamese culture, our meals consists of a bowl of rice and a few dishes to eat with the rice. Usually those dishes consist of a protein dish, a vegetable dish, and a soup. The soup is usually eaten with a little bit of rice, but tastes great by itself as well.

Winter melon is a vine gourd and is packed with nutrients. Its full of Vit C, Zinc, and Calcium. To start off with this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

1) 1 winter melon; peeled and chopped into small bite size pieces.

2) 6-8 shrimps with their heads on; Rinsed, peeled, and deveined. Cut the heads and put it aside

3) 1 can of chicken broth

4) water

5) a handful of cilantro; finely chopped.

6) table spoon of oil

7) salt and black pepper

8) fish sauce to taste

9) rock sugar

10) dried red chili or chili flakes (optional)

11) 2 scallions, finely sliced

Start by cutting the peeled shrimps into little pieces. In a small bowl combine the shrimp and the heads, scallions and about a table spoon of fish sauce. I then add a pinch of dried chili flakes to the mixture (optional! keep it out if you can't handle the heat). The shrimp heads makes the broth extra "shrimpy", so add it if you like a more intense seafood flavor.

Place a pot on the stove and put it on medium high heat. Add about a teaspoon of oil into the pot. Then add the shrimp (and head), scallion, and fish sauce mixture into the pot and stir fry the mixture until the shrimp is cooked. Add a 14 oz can of chicken broth and water. The amount of water you put in there depends on how watery you like the soup and the size of the melon. Today I'm using a small melon, roughly 7 inches long and 3 inches wide, so I will be adding 3 cups of water. I then add 1 teaspoon of rock sugar to the broth. The small addition of rock sugar makes the broth a nice mellow sweet flavor.

Bring the water to a boil and then add the chopped winter melons. Reduce the heat so the broth is simmering and cook the melons until they are translucent in color. Remove the pot from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, add the chopped cilantro and serve the soup hot! I like to eat it with a little bit of rice, but that's optional, because the soup is nice and hearty and makes a good soup appetizer.