Watermelon Soup

Do you know all part of watermelon can be consumed?  I know the white part of the watermelon can be used to boil soup and the soup is actually healthy for us.  Watermelon is a cooling food so this soup is best to consume during the hot summer days, especially good to relieves heatiness.  This soup is sweet on its' own and you only need to season it with a little salt to bring out the overall flavor.  I saw the Chinese used the white part of the watermelon in boiling soup from the Chinese's cooking show and was really intriguing.  So, when I cut the watermelon, I saved the white part to try it myself.  I discard the green skin but I read that some people use it to make salad.  I saved it in portions in ziplock bags and freeze it for later use.  Just defroze it a day before in the refrigerator. 

This soup is really delicious, very sweet and has the cooling effect.  Watermelon is in season during summer days so what a great way to utilize most part of the watermelon eh?  It is similar to the sweet soup came from fruit such as apple or snow pears.  Since this soup is very cooling, it is not advisable for pregnant women to consume.

Ingredient:

• 1600ml water
• 1 chicken drumstick
• 2 pieces of pork bones with some meat (from pork chops or ribs)
• 2 Chinese dried honey dates
• 1 and 1/2 carrots, cut into big chunk
• Watermelon white part, from 1/4 of the watermelon or about I big bowl (the white part in the middle of the green skin and red flesh)
• Salt to taste ( about 1/2 tsp.)

Method:

1.  In a pot, add in water and let it boil.  When boiling, add in pork bones, scoop out anything that float on top.  

2.  Add in drumstick, honey dates and carrots, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the pork meat is tender.

3.  Lastly, add in watermelon and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  Season to taste with a little salt.  The soup will be very sweet on its' own, add a little salt to bring out the full flavor.