Chinese winter melon soup recipe with pork meatballs, winter melon, and glass noodles, simmered in a big clay soup pot! This winter melon meatball soup is healthy delicious and a must-make for winter season! Make20 meatballs at a size of 2 tbsp per meatball.
Course Soup
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Winter melon meatball soup, Winter melon soup with meatballs
In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients from pork to 2 tbsp olive oil. Use chopsticks to stir in one direction until the mixture turns into a very sticky paste, about 6 to 7 minutes. You’ll need a bit of muscle to do this but this will give the meatballs an excellent springy texture.
Set aside a large plate or sheet pan to hold the meatballs, and grease your hands with a little olive oil. This will make it easier to shape them.
Form 20 round-shaped meatballs at a size of 2 tbsp per meatball. They will be quite soft so be careful when you handle and transfer them.
Prepare the melons:
Use a chef’s knife to trim away the outer skin of the winter melon until you see the white color flesh. Scoop out the seeds. Dice it to equal sizes, roughly 1.5-inch cubes.
To cook:
In a large 4-quart size soup pot or Dutch oven, saute the ginger and white scallion parts with 1 tbsp oil over medium heat for 1 minute.
Add the melon and stock. Cover with a lid and simmer the soup over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily poke through the melon but the texture is not mushy.
Carefully transfer the meatballs into the soup. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
Taste the broth and season with more salt, coconut aminos, and white pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Optional
If you are adding glass noodles, follow the package instructions to prepare the noodles separately and add them to the soup. If you use low-carb kelp noodles, please follow this post to prepare your noodles correctly for the best texture!
If you can't find winter melon, I recommend using daikon radish or carrots for this soup.
When you “stir” the meatballs, the mixture will seem really loose at the beginning. Keep stirring it in the same direction for 6 to 7 minutes, the texture will turn into a thick sticky paste.
You can also use an electric mixer on a low-speed setting to help you “stir” the meatballs until the mixture turns into a sticky paste texture.
The nutritional label is estimated with kelp noodles.