Winter Melon and Lamb Soup

If you want to add a nourishing soup to the dining table, winter melon and mutton soup is the best choice. Starting from the selection of ingredients to cooking a pot of fragrant soup, every step in between affects the final taste. Do you know where the key lies?

Required raw materials and substitutes

Main ingredients

Winter melon: Provides a refreshing taste and melts in the mouth after stewing.

Fatty mutton rolls: The source of delicious soup flavor. The meat is tender and delicious.

Accessories

Ginger: Shredded to remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance, and remove the muttony smell.

Scallion whites: Cut into sections to add fragrance and enrich the flavor levels of the soup.

Scallion greens: Cut into rings for decoration and enhance the freshness of the soup.

Seasonings

Cooking oil: Stir-fry ingredients to stimulate fragrance and make the heating more uniform.

Cooking wine: Removes fishy smell and greasiness and enhances flavor, making the soup more delicious.

Salt: Basic seasoning for salty and fresh taste. The dosage should be just right.

Chinese wolfberries: Add color and a sense of health preservation to make the soup more attractive.

Pepper: Enhances flavor, dispels cold and increases flavor, and stimulates appetite.

Substitutes

Winter melon: Zucchini can be substituted, with a crisp, refreshing and sweet taste for a different experience.

Fatty mutton rolls: Beef rolls can be substituted. The meat is firm and the flavor is richer.

Scallion whites: Onion shreds can be replaced. They have an obvious sweet taste and add fragrance and flavor after stewing.

Scallion greens: Leek ends can be used. Adding a small amount gives a unique pungent fragrance and enhances the soup flavor.

Cooking wine: Beer can be substituted and has a malt fragrance.

Pepper: Sichuan pepper powder can be substituted. It has a prominent numbing taste. Control the dosage to prevent excessive numbing.

How to choose winter melon?

There are three key points to look for when choosing winter melon: touch, look, and knock. When touching the winter melon, it should be slightly elastic and not too soft. When looking at the appearance, choose one that is greenish-blue, has white powder on the surface and is undamaged. When knocking gently, the sound should be dull, indicating that the flesh is firm.

When purchasing winter melon, pay attention to the season. Winter melons in summer and autumn are the best, with sufficient moisture and good taste. The winter melon doesn't need to be too large. Generally, for families, a 3-4 catties one is the most suitable. Ones that are too large are not easy to store and not practical.

Secret of success

Heat control

At the beginning, when frying shredded ginger and scallions, use low heat and fry slowly to bring out all the fragrance. When you see that the shredded ginger turns a bit yellow and the scallions become soft, it's fine. If the fire is too high, it's easy to burn. If it burns, the soup will have a bitter taste.

After adding water, first boil the water on high heat. Put the winter melon in and then turn to medium heat and simmer slowly. In this way, the winter melon can be thoroughly cooked and the taste can also permeate into the soup. When adding mutton, turn back to high heat again and quickly blanch the mutton so that the mutton will be very tender and not too tough to chew.

Ingredients

Winter melon: When choosing winter melon, pick one with a smooth and firm skin. Peel it and cut it into slices of about the same thickness. In this way, it will be easy to absorb the flavor when cooking and it doesn't need to be cooked for too long.

Mutton: When choosing mutton, you have to be careful. Choose fresh mutton rolls with even fat and lean. Only this kind of mutton can make the soup fragrant. If it's too fatty, the soup will be greasy. If it's too lean, it will be tasteless.

Seasoning

Cooking wine: When frying shredded ginger and scallions, pour in some cooking wine. The fishy smell will disappear and there will be an extra fragrance.

Salt: Put in a little at first because as the soup cooks, the amount will decrease and become thicker. If you put in too much, it will be so salty that it's impossible to drink.

Others: Sprinkle some pepper and scallions before taking it out of the pot. Immediately, the soup will be fragrant. If you want the soup to look better and be more nutritious, add a little wolfberry. Just a small handful is enough. If there's too much, the taste will be a bit strange.

Is there any requirement for the pot when making this soup?

For stewing winter melon and mutton soup, casseroles or stew pots are the most suitable as these kinds of pots can maintain uniform temperature and have a more reasonable heat distribution, allowing the ingredients to fully absorb the flavors.

Stainless steel pots can also be used, but pay attention to controlling the heat as stainless steel conducts heat quickly and it is easy to overcook, resulting in overly soft winter melon.

Anyway, iron pots and aluminum pots are not recommended. Because iron pots can easily change the color of the soup, and aluminum pots may have a chemical reaction with mutton and affect the taste.

When choosing a pot, it is best to choose a deep one with a capacity of about 4 to 5 liters. This way, the soup will not overflow when cooking. At the same time, make sure the pot lid has good sealing performance so that nutrients will not be lost and the soup will be more intense.

Using a ceramic pot is also a good choice, but pay attention to slow temperature changes to avoid the pot from cracking.