Double Boil Winter Melon Dessert (冬瓜)
This is a cooling and nourishing for the lungs (in TCM terms – traditional Chinese Medicine) dessert and good to take when you have cough or having green phlegm. Otherwise, it can also be taken as a dessert for cooling the system anytime.
Ingredients
- 1 round winter melon ,(not those huge Chinese winter melon, but use those round ones about a size of a volley ball)
- Water
- Rock Sugar (as the “rock” size vary, approximate to about 5 tablespoon of sugar combined)
Method
- Wash the outside of melon.
- Using a sharp knife, cut off the top end (the end with the stalk) with a nice clean cut, and the piece that was cut out is about 5 cm at the thickest point (center), and it looks like a “cover” of about 10-15 cm diameter. We need this to cover the melon during steaming.
- Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds of the melon from the cut end and hence leaving a hollow center in the melon.
- Put in the rock sugar, and water to fill up the hollow.
- Cover with the “cover” that was cut out in step 2 so that it is back to a round melon. Secure with tooth picks.
- Using a metal bowl as a base to hold the melon upright without spilling its content.
- Steam the whole melon in medium heat for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- When done, open up the “cover” and scoop out the water and using spoon scoop out the flesh (should be very soft now) and serve in a bowl.
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green phlegm?
i.e. when you clear your throat, the muscus is greenish in color, a sign of too “heaty”.
btw, it is ok to put more sugar if you have sweet tooth, as the melon flesh is very plain in taste.
can i cook this in a slow cooker?
I think you can, cut into small pieces. I think you should cook it with skin, as my TCM doctor instructed to keep the skin when boiling winter melon drink. (i dont know why though).
is the round winter melon the same as the ones used to boil soups?
yes