From the simplest versions prepared for weekday meals to the more elaborate ones served at various Chinese banquets and on special occasions, winter melon soup is a classic dish of Cantonese cuisine, popular throughout Southeastern Asia. Even though winter melons ripen in summer, they have a long shelf life and can be stored for up to a year, which is why this gourd is one of the few vegetables available during winter season.

Apart from that, dong gua - as the Chinese call it - is particularly prized for its restorative, diuretic, detoxifying, and immunity boosting properties. And although the delicate flesh of dong gua has no distinct flavor of its own, the velvety, almost translucent cubes of this squash-like melon easily take on the rich flavors of pork or chicken broth used to make the soup.

For a more wholesome meal, this versatile soup can be enriched with a wide variety of other ingredients: chicken meat, pork ribs, ham, bacon, dried shrimps or anchovies, crab meat, pearl barley, goji berries, lotus seeds, straw mushrooms, kombu seaweed, etc.

Regardless of its name, winter melon soup is not only enjoyed as a heartwarming meal traditionally served in wintertime, but also as a refreshing dish which helps to bring down body heat during hot summer months.