Lemongrass Winter Melon Soup with Periwinkles, Ginkgo Nuts and Vietnamese Perilla

A very nice tasting winter melon soup!

     It has been more than a year since I have posted a winter melon soup recipe and this is the first periwinkle recipe in this food blog.  There is only one way that I could have come up with this tasty idea of combining these two items.  That was by shopping at a great Vietnamese market in Las Vegas yesterday!  I seem to get good recipe ideas when I shop at the local specialty markets.

     Periwinkles are a very nice tasting small sea snail.  The flavor is very clean and not muddy at all.  The delicate flavor of periwinkles seemed like a good match for the light savory flavor of winter melon soup.  

     The nice mild complex flavor of Vietnamese perilla herb really added a nice finishing touch.  Fresh herbs are commonly served with soups in Vietnamese cuisine.  They are meant to be stirred into the soup to add a fresh crisp herb flavor.

     Ginkgo nuts have a nice delicate flavor of their own.  Ginkgo nuts are a strong antioxidant and they help to boost the immune system.  Lemongrass creates a nice broth flavor for winter melon.  Lemongrass is a key herb in Vietnamese cuisine.    

     Put it all together and this is a very tasty healthy soup!

     

     Lemongrass Winter Melon Soup with Periwinkles, Ginkgo Nuts and Vietnamese Perilla Recipe:               

     This recipe makes 1 large bowl of soup!  Three cups of broth may seem like a lot, but after simmering, some of the liquid will evaporate.  Evaporation or reduction is figured into all of my soup recipes. 

     Tie 1 shoot of lemongrass into a simple knot.

     Place the lemongrass knot into a pot.

     Add 3 cups of light chicken broth.  

     Place the pot over medium high heat.

     Bring the broth to a gentle boil.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Simmer the broth for 10 to 15 minutes, till lemongrass flavor infuses with the broth.

     Add 1 large handful of winter melon that is cut into cube shaped large bite size pieces.

     Add 3 to 4 ounces of poached periwinkles that are sliced into bite size pieces.  (Poached shelled periwinkles can be purchased at asian markets.  Fresh live periwinkles in their shells are available too.) 

     Add 6 peeled fresh ginkgo nuts.

     Gently simmer the soup, till the winter melon becomes tender.  

     Simmer till the winter melon turns from opaque to a translucent color.

     Remove the lemongrass knot.

     Ladle the soup into a bowl.

     Float a few very thin slices of onion on the surface of the soup.

     Place Vietnamese perilla leaves around the soup against the edge of the soup bowl.

     Honestly, I was very pleased with the flavor of this soup!  There is not a long list of ingredients in this soup, but the balance of flavor was very nice.  This soup has a delicate flavor that brings on a smile!  Yum!  ...  Shawna