Steamed Stuffed Winter Melon Rolls

Did you know that winter melon can grow as large as 80cm in length! That's really huge! The one I saw in the market is really big, I bought just a slice, about 5" wide and it already weighs almost 1 kg! Winter melon is popular among the Chinese. It can be used in stir-fries, soups and can be preserved into candied winter melon, which are used to prepare sweet desserts as well as in savoury cooking. For soups, the flesh is usually boiled with either chicken or pork together with a few other Chinese herbs. 

For dinner the other night, I steamed it, stuffed with minced meat. The dish is really tasty. I found this lovely recipe from a book on Chinese Steaming recipes. I doubled the recipe, which yields about 18 rolls. I have however made mine with some changes. Have you tried winter melon before? How do you cook this melon? 

Just a thick slice of this melon is enough for a dish!  

 Place about a tablespoon of the filling in the centre of the melon slice, which has been boiled in water to soften. Roll it up and place on steaming plate.

A plate of rolled stuffed melon ready to be steamed.

 The sauce is thickened and poured over the stuffed melon.

  Enjoy !

Enjoy !

I'm sharing this with :
Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Fun w/food Friday at Paisley Passions

Steamed Stuffed Winter Melon Rolls
(with some changes, original source from :"Steamed Cuisine")
Ingredients A :
200gm winter melon
some shredded spring onion
cornstarch solution, for thickening

Ingredients B :
100g fish paste
100gm minced pork
100gm prawn paste
1 tbsp chopped carrot
1 tbsp chopped spring onions
1 tbsp choppped water chestnuts

Seasoning :
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp corn flour

Sauce :
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp "Shaoxing" wine (Chinese cooking wine)
stock - use the stock collected during steaming

Method :

1. Cut winter melon into thin slices, blanch in the boiling water until soften. Remove, rinse under running cool water, drain well and keep aside.
2. To make filling, mix entire ingredients (B) and seasoning, stir until sticky.
3. Spoon in some filling onto each winter melon  slice, roll it up. Arrange on a heatproof plate. Steam in a preheated steamer, over medium high heat for 10 minutes until cooked.
4. After steaming, remove rolls carefully to a serving plate. There will be some stock collected during the steaming. This stock is really tasty. Pour this stock into a small saucepan. Add in the sesame oil, light soy sauce or salt  to taste, Chinese cooking wine and allow to boil for a few minutes. Thicken with some cornstarch solution and pour thickened gravy onto the stuffed rolls. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot. Enjoy!   

The extra bits and pieces of the melon flesh, after slicing for the rolls, can be used for soups or stir-fries)