Dampness-Clearing Winter Melon Soup (qu shi dong gua tang)

Why people make this soup

There’s a Cantonese saying about the hottest days of summer when no one wants to cook. But the heavy, humid air leaves people feeling tired and sluggish, so Nourilo reaches for a dampness-clearing soup. A proper “dampness-clearing winter melon” pack holds adzuki bean, hyacinth bean, raw and cooked Job’s-tears, fu shen, lotus leaf, lotus pod, kapok flower, ze xie and rush pith — heat-clearing, water-draining herbs that, simmered with winter melon, ease summer-heat restlessness, water retention, and a dry, thirsty mouth.

Method

1. Rinse and soak the dampness-clearing pack. Wash the aged winter melon (keep the skin and seeds) and cut into chunks.
2. Put everything in a pot with 2.4 L of water and simmer 3 hours down to 1.2–1.5 L. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

A winter melon with a white bloom on the skin is “aged” and has heat-clearing power; it’s gentle enough even for a weaker body. You can add honey dates and lean pork. If your constitution runs cold, add a couple of pieces of aged tangerine peel so it won’t feel too cooling.