Winter Melon Tomato Pork Bone Soup (冬瓜番茄排骨汤)

In where I live in Texas, August is almost always the hottest month in the summer. So I have been making pork-bone-stock-based soups often these days to beat the heat. I’ve shared a few pork-bone-stock-based soup recipes in the past. So today’s post is another simple yet delicious pork bone soup using winter melon and tomato as the main accompany ingredients. Don’t worry, I have more under my belt.

You can find my pork bone stock recipe in one of my previous posts. I usually make the stock the day before and use it up in two days. Check out a few of my other pork bone soup recipes here, such as Corn Potato Carrot Pork Bone Soup, Tomato with Potato Pork Bone Soup, or Daikon Pork Bone Soup. One thing I love about pork bone soups is that with just few simple ingredients, the stock transforms into a different soup with its own unique flavor and texture.

This Winter Melon Tomato Pork Bone Soup combines the natural sweetness and acidity of tomatoes with the savory and umami of the stock. The winter melon balances the meatiness with its refreshing taste and texture. You will feel both extremely satisfied and cooled from the heat after finishing a bowl.

Due to winter melon’s generally large size (between 10 and 30 pounds), Asian grocery stores usually pre-cut them into smaller wedges and sell the wedges individually wrapped. Although uncut winter melon can be stored at room temperature for months. Once cut, winter melon doesn’t store well even in a refrigerator (only a few days). Make sure the flesh feels firm and not mushy when picking your sliced winter melon wedge. And make sure to store it in a refrigerator if not using immediately.

Tool: One medium or large soup pot that holds at least 3 quarts (stainless steel sauce pan/soup pot, Asian style stoneware pot, or Dutch oven)

Gluten Free

Preparation Time:  10 minutes

Total Time:  ~ 3 hours ¹

Servings: 4 – 6 people

Ingredients:

• 2-2 ½ quarts of pork bone stock with 4 to 5 pieces of pork neck bones (see previous post)
• ~1 lb of winter melon
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• ~ 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or ~1 teaspoon table salt)

Preparation:

1. Cut off the winter melon’s hard, dark green skin and slice the pale winter melon meat into 1/4 inch (~0.6 mm) thick wedges. Chop the tomatoes into medium wedges.

2. Heat the oil in a sauce pan or soup pot under medium-high heat. When the oil is getting warm, add the tomato wedges and a pinch of kosher salt. Stir a bit. When there is visible juice released from the tomatoes, pour the pork bone stock along with the pork neck bones into the soup pot. Cover the lid.

3. When the soup begins to boil, add the winter melon wedges. Gently mix the soup and cover the lid again. When the soup starts to bubble again, lower the heat to medium-low or low to maintain a simmer for 5 minutes.

4. When the 5 minutes are up, turn off the heat. Add the 2 teaspoons of kosher salt (1 teaspoon of table salt) to the soup, mixing thoroughly. Add more salt to taste. Enjoy while warm!

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. Includes preparation, active, and total time used to make the pork bone stock. If you prepared the pork bone stock in advance, it only takes about 30 minutes in total.

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