Most evening, after a hearty dinner, I will be glued seated in front of the idiot box, watching the food channel most of the time... trotters wrestling for the channels...he wants to watch his channel and I want my food channel....so we draw a line....he records his programme and leaving me the evening to watch my korean dramas and my food channels....I won the wrestling coz I am the Queen Sow ! LOL! Just kidding, he is named Wild Boar but he is a gentle boar and always giving way to me...hahaha okay I have digress a bit but it has something to do with this winter melon. Saw this on Astro....and I tried to replicate this dish and whoa...it turned out to be great...especially , I added dried scallop to the soup ! I make this for my Piggy Josh when he came back last Friday :) he loved it and Wild Boar show the fingers sign... thumbs up ! LOL! So he was happy I cooked this for him after watching the chef did this on Astro ! :p A simple and tasty dish which I will add to cook list for the coming CNY reunion dinner...yea I know it is still a long way from now, but just the same, a great dish to add to the CNY menu :)
Winter Melon can be cooked as dessert or savory dish like the one above. Most of the time I will cook it as a cooling tea for the family , especially on hot weather like now. But last Saturday, I cooked the melon with a twist....after watching the Chef 's demonstration. No recipe given . I tried to replicate his dish . It looks so good on screen that I have to buy the ingredients and make the dish myself and my taster confirmed it that it was good...for people who eat western food most of the time can say this is good , I trust Piggy Josh's review on my this dish ! He say it is good, the flavorful soup soaked into the steamed winter melon and the woody smell of the fresh mushrooms and the dried scallop gave it the oomph needed to flavor up the dish. He rated it 8/10 !!! hahaha that is why I love my Piggies so much :p They always give me good ratings for my food :)) I am sure they are smart as not to offend the Chef of the house ! Okay...not my recipe , I copycat it from Astro LOL!
cut the melon into neat squares...the leftovers
melon of all sizes can be used for making the chinese cooling tea...
steam the square melons for 20-25 minutes -
for me , I steamed it for 20 minutes and it turned out perfect
over steaming will have you a mushy and soft melon
fresh mushroom ( Shimeiji ) ...saute with olive oil and
chopped garlic till soft and cooked...
boil dried scallop, wolfberries and red dates
with 2 - 3 cups of water till aromatic and the
scallop is soft...under medium low heat....add in chinese wine
and chicken stock and a pinch of salt for taste..
boil for 3/4 hour....
assemble the sauteed mushrooms and
dried scallop and wolberries on top of the
steamed melon
I gave the melon dish a twist by adding dried scallop
...it was not in the dish presented by the
Chef but I added it for Piggy Josh ...he loves dried scallops!
pour the wolfberries and scallop soup over the melon
gosh, it smells good and I knew it would be tasty
as shown on Astro and I managed to replicate well :p
scoop the melon together with the soup and the first
mouthful had my Piggy Josh enthralled...the texture
of the melon was perfect and the soup
was tasty and the dried scallop gave the soup
its natural sweetness....awesome !
A beautiful dish that I want to share with you guys....
saw the demonstration on Astro.....and after which nothing
one can stop me from making this dish !
Have a blessed day !
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Hi Elin
ReplyDeleteI also saw it on tv, was thinking to prepare this dish as well :)
I like the idea of adding dry scallop. Taste yummy!
Thanks for sharing it :)
i'm showing my fingers too..two thumbs up!! haha! anyway, thanks for sharing this cos i hardly watch tv and i also agree with you, looks very presentable and exquisite, makes a good dish on cny!
ReplyDeleteMe too, mee toooo!
ReplyDeleteSaw it too!
Some chef's signature dish, forgot the name, but I saw this too.
No wonder u didn't go and buy the RM3.60 brussels sprouts la, busy with this superb delicious dish. kekekeke.
What an interesting recipe! I only recently had savory 9cooked, even!) melon for the first time, and it was quite the experience. I'd love to try this!
ReplyDelete(And sorry for the long absence, I was traveling/graduating)
Oh? That looks like an easy dish to prepare...and it looks delicious too! Hmmm...must try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence- we both love watching the food channels! I cooked this too, but I used XO sauce instead of dried scallops.
ReplyDeleteCass...thanks for dropping me a line here and yea the moment I saw this dish on Astro, I knew I am sold ! :)
ReplyDeleteLena....pls dont sign finger language hahaha..thumbs never mind :) good for CNY menu. Easy and the soup can be prepared a day before. And the steaming just take 20 minutes and you are ready to serve them :)
Wendy...hahaha you lucky angel...always get things cheap form Tesco...fruits and now veggie ! Yea...it is Chef's signature dish ..I aso cant remember his name but I can remember the dish :p
Kiri...Welcome back :) * hugs
Arthur....yea simple and easy dish to prepare. Delicious ! You must try making it.
Elaine...thanks for dropping by. Great idea to use XO sauce , but I prefer dried scallop for the sea smell :) but I guess XO sauce will give the same wonderful taste !
oh ya hor...very good idea...just noce for such warm weather...
ReplyDeleteWinter Melon is wonderful for being able to absorb flavoursome ingredients and turning a dish into a delicious & healthy one!
ReplyDeleteFabulous recreation and looks elegant too!