The Winter Melon Seafood Soup My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

Step 1: Prepare winter melon

Assuming you were starting with a whole entire winter melon, we'd:

• wipe the white hairs/dust off with a paper towel
• slice the melon to the weight/quantity you'll be using
• remove the core / seeds

With our slice of winter melon (1.5 lb), we'll:

• peel the skin
• wash the winter melon
• dice it into about 1 cm cubes

Step 2: Chop seafood & chives

We'll be dicing our fish fillets (3 oz) (we used tilapia), shrimp (3 oz) (deveined, de-shelled), crab or imitation crab (4 oz), and yellow chives (1 oz). These are all cut into about 1 cm pieces.

Yellow chives are more tender, sweet, and lighter in taste than the more commonly known green chive. If you can’t get yellow chives, green chives work fine as well.

Step 3: Start boiling, create marinades & thickeners

Set the stove on high heat and start boiling water (4 cup) and chicken broth (7 oz).

We'll marinate our fish and shrimp each with cornstarch (2 tsp), water (0.50 tbsp), and white pepper (0.50 tsp) (these amounts are per bowl.)

Then, create a cornstarch slurry with cornstarch (5 tbsp) and water (4 tbsp).

We'll also separate egg whites. To separate the egg whites from the yolks, my dad cracks the eggs, opens them from the top, and then carefully pours the yolk into the other side of the egg shell.

Add a splash of water (about 1/2 tsp) to the bowl to help the eggs separate and "flower" in the soup more easily, and mix well.

Step 4: Cook the soup

Once the pot has come to a boil, we'll add our winter melon to the pot, stir, and cover. Let the winter melon cook for 5-7 minutes. Once it comes to a boil again, we can proceed to thicken our soup.

To thicken our soup, re-stir the cornstarch slurry to dissolve any remaining cornstarch, and slowly pour it into the pot, stirring constantly as we pour. My dad took about 30-45 seconds to pour the cornstarch in. If we pour it in all at once, it'll turn into a clump.

Sometimes, my dad doesn't use all of the cornstarch, just until desired thickness. It's up to you :)

Then, we'll add our fish, shrimp, and crab. Stir, cover and let the seafood cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Slowly pour in the eggs over the course of 20-30 seconds, constantly stirring to help the egg flower into soft whisks and strands.

Next, we’ll add more flavor to the soup with salt. (1 tsp) My dad says you can add whatever amount you like. We’ll also add some white pepper (0.50 tsp) to taste, as well as olive oil (0.50 tsp) and sesame oil (1 tsp). 

Step 5: Taste, plate, garnish

Almost there! Like a true chef, my dad always tastes his dish in case he needs to adjust the flavor at all.

Then, we'll pour our soup into a bowl / bowls, and garnish with our yellow chives.

Next, call your loved ones over - time to eat!