Jamie was home for a week, so I headed to the Asian grocery store to buy Hairy (or Fuzzy, completely interchangeable) Melon to make a favorite homestyle soup, Mo Gwa Tong (毛瓜 湯). Unfortunately, not a fuzzy melon in sight; in its place was Opo, a squash, which looks like a bald, smooth as a baby’s butt version of a fuzzy melon.
What To Do?
A quick search convinced me to try Opo squash. It’s often used in soups. I found a homestyle Vietnamese soup (Canh Bầu Tôm), Opo and Shrimp Balls, and a Taiwanese soup 瓠子肉丸湯 (hù zi ròu wán tāng), Squash and Meatball Soup, both of which sounded delicious and would be the perfect stand-in for Fuzzy Melon Soup. Hmmm, perhaps a fusion of the two? Let’s do it.
The Squash
Opo can be found in most Asian markets, USUALLY, right next to the Fuzzy (Hairy) Melon. It’s mild and slightly sweet. It is described as a cross between zucchini and cucumber. Pick squash on the smaller side. The bigger ones can get a bit seedy. I’m so glad I didn’t give up at the store when I couldn’t find Fuzzy Melon. If you can’t find opo, use Korean radish, fuzzy melon, or winter melon.
The Dumplings or Meatballs
The Vietnamese version is often made with shrimp balls, while the Taiwanese recipe starts with pork meatballs. Why not combine the two, much like my mom’s wontons, and use both pork and shrimp for the meatballs in the soup? The best of both worlds. The key to the meatball is to stir in one direction when mixing (🤷🏻♀️ cause that’s what my mom told me to do). Chopsticks are perfect for this job. Stir until the mixture becomes a little tacky but still loose. My recipe for the meatballs or dumplings is 3/4 pork and 1/4 shrimp. Substitute all pork or all shrimp if you like.
The Broth
The recipes I saw on IG started with chicken bouillon or powder as the base for the soup. This is fine if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table. I happened to have homemade chicken stock available. Use what you like: commercial low-sodium chicken broth, chicken bouillon powder (a must-have in a Cantonese kitchen, I like Lee Kum Kee or Knorr), or dashi. Whatever floats your boat. Use half stock and half water for the base, as the meatballs will add flavor to your soup.
Slice the squash into small, uniform pieces so it cooks quickly.
Herbs
Some folks can’t stand cilantro-it’s genetic, lol. I happen to love cilantro, and it does add a lot to this soup…but if you are a hater, use scallions instead.
Finally, make sure you have rice ready for the kids and noodles for me. The perfect accompaniment for this soup!
Check out my IG Reel for this soup! https://www.instagram.com/p/DR_lm4sAGHq/
Opo Squash Soup with Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lb Opo squash (1 medium)
Meatballs
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/4 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder or Better than Boullion Chicken Base
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 stalk of chopped green onions
Soup Base:
- 1/2 cup sliced white onions
- 1/4 cup of cilantro
- 6 cups chicken broth or water use low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder omit if using homemade chicken broth, if using commercial broth, reduce boullion to 1 tsp.
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce for soup or light soy
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the skin and slice squash into 3/8 inch circles, then cut each in half
- Finely chop shrimp and combine with ground pork. Season mixture with white pepper, fish sauce, chicken bouillon powder, sugar and chopped green onions. Mix and set aside while you boil the stock.
- Once your stock is boiling, use a spoon to form meatballs and drop them into the water. After about 5 minutes, you’ll see them float to the top as they start to cook. Add fish sauce, soy sauce and chicken bouillon and black pepper to season the soup and then taste and adjust.
- Add in the opo squash and sliced white onions and cook over medium heat until the squash is translucent. Garnish with cilantro, stir and serve