Stuffed Winter Melon from Fengcheng

Stuffed Winter Melon from Fengcheng

　　Stuffed Winter Melon from Fengcheng

　　The short and tender black-skinned winter melons produced in the suburbs of Daliang are used by locals to make this popular home-style dish—stuffed winter melon. It is known for being sweet, soft, smooth, fragrant, and delicious.

　　Ingredients: two even-shaped winter melons weighing about 1 kg in total, 150 g fresh mud carp fish meat, 50 g each of lean and fatty pork, 25 g each of moist dried mushroom pieces, dried shrimp pieces, moist squid pieces, and chopped scallions, 500 g of second broth, 15 g egg white, appropriate amounts of cornstarch, sesame oil, cooking oil, pepper, ginger flower, and seasonings, plus 2 coriander leaves.

　　Preparation method:

　　1. Mince the mud carp fish meat and lean pork separately. Marinate the fatty pork in wine, then dice it into rice-sized grains. Mix all three types of meat evenly, add refined salt and beat until it becomes sticky. Then add egg white, cornstarch, moist mushroom pieces, dried shrimp pieces, and squid pieces, mix well, beat again, and finally add chopped scallions to form the stuffing.

　　2. Remove the stems of the winter melons, gently scrape off the outer skin using a bamboo slice while leaving some green skin. Cut them horizontally into pieces about 5 cm thick, scoop out the flesh, and blanch them in boiling water until they are 80% cooked. Dry them with a clean cloth, apply dry cornstarch inside the hollows, and stuff them with the prepared filling.

　　3. Heat oil in a pan, deep-fry the stuffed winter melons until lightly colored, then remove. Sauté ginger flowers until fragrant, pour in the second broth, add the stuffed melons, and simmer until just cooked (test with a chopstick). Remove and arrange on a plate. Adjust the color of the original sauce with a little cooking oil, thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water, pour over the melons, and garnish with coriander leaves for color.