Winter Melon Soup

1 (10 lb.) (approximately)
winter melon (be sure
you have a pot large
enough for it)

SOUP INGREDIENTS TO BE PUT INTO
CAVITY OF MELON:
5 c. chicken soup stock
2 tsp. dry sherry
1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
15 lotus seeds, soaked & skinned
4 lg. dried mushrooms, soaked & cut
into 1/4 inch squares
1 c. barley, soaked overnight

OTHER INGREDIENTS TO BE PUT INTO
CAVITY OF MELON:
1/3 c. diced roasted pork or roasted
duck meat
1 boned, skinless chicken breast, cut
into 1/4 inch cubes
Mix 1/3 cup raw lean pork, cut into 1/4 inch cubes, with 1
teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix 6 ounces fresh
shrimp, cleaned, deveined and cut into 1/2 inch cubes with 1/2
teaspoon dry sherry, 1 pinch white pepper and 1/2 teaspoon
cornstarch. 1/3 c. abalone, cut into 1/4 inch cubes 1/3 c. coriander
for garnishing Cut off enough of the stem end of melon for removal
of contents or to fit melon to pot, and remove seeds and soft pulp.
Put a piece of cheese cloth under melon to facilitate removal from
pot after cooking, then put melon in pot. Put soup ingredients into
cavity of melon. Steam melon with its soup ingredients for 1 hour,
making sure there is enough water in pot for steaming. Add roast
pork or duck meat and steam an additional 15 minutes. Add cubed
chicken and pork mixture to the hot broth and stir so that the
pieces do not stick together. Steam an additional 15 minutes. Add
shrimp mixture, straw mushrooms, abalone and turn off heat. Grasp
corners of cheesecloth and lift out melon gently. Place on a large
round serving platter. Remove cheesecloth and garnish with
coriander. Serve hot, judiciously scooping out melon pulp to avoid
puncturing the shell and not allow soup to leak out.
This dish has always been a major undertaking as you can see.
However, family and guests who are served this soup always
appreciate the effort involved. Basically the melon is used as a
container for the soup and is sometimes carved with figures, Chinese
characters or geometric patterns to make the melon look like a
ceramic piece. Books on Chinese garnishings and vegetable carving
can give more information on this matter. The cheesecloth method of
handling the melon works, but can be replaced by using of a trivet
or any flat metal piece which can be placed under the melon with
strings attached so that the ends of the strings are readily reached
from the top. If the melon is immersed in water almost to the top,
the cooking is controlled better. If the water level is, say, only
1/2 to 1/3 of the height of the melon, the portion out of the water
is not as well done as the portion in the water, making handling and
serving difficult. Of course, if the entire melon is simply
steamed, the cooked melon will be homogeneous. However, it would
take a longer time to cook. The top of the melon that is cut off
can be peeled, cut into chunks and put into the soup with the rest
of the ingredients or it may be reserved for another dish.