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Shark’s Fin Melon Soup
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I am cooking shark’s fin melon soup! NOT shark’s fin + melon soup, but soup made with shark’s fin melon … so don’t worry, no sharks were killed in the making of this soup. As you may have guessed, shark’s fin melon got its name from its resemblance to shark’s fin, a popular and exorbitantly expensive Chinese delicacy. When cooked (see photo on right), the strands of the melon separate a little, resembling cooked shark’s fin, hence the name of this melon. Shark’s fin melon is cheap – I bought a piece of melon for only S$1.50. I was told that real shark’s fin on its own has no nutrition value and no taste, and the overall taste of the shark’s fin soup comes from its earthy broth of chicken, crab and other ingredients. This melon, on the other hand, is packed with lots of taste and nutrients, even my mum swears by the health benefits of this soup. If I am selling this soup, my sales pitch will be that “this soup is more nutritional and much, much cheaper than real sharks fin soup”.
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In Singapore, this melon is labeled as ‘Shark’s Fin Melon’ (鱼翅瓜). The flesh resembles winter melon but the green skin covering looks entirely different. According to Wiki, in other countries especially in the west, the other names of this melon are spaghetti squash (Cucurbita pepo), vegetable spaghetti, noodle squash, Spaghetti Marrow (in the UK) , squaghetti or Sharkfin Melon (鱼翅瓜). However, spaghetti squash and the other names may not be a 100% accurate translation, though it gives a good start. According to readers comments, the spaghetti squash in the west is sort of yellow/orange outside and inside. There may be a slight variation of breed from location to location.
Shark’s Fin Melon (L: removing seeds with a spoon, R: cut into chunks)
What a great idea to add the chunks of melon/squash (I’m used to calling it spaghetti squash) and letting the strands pull out as it cooks.
Yummy! I love shark fin melon soup. Loves the texture, definitely prefer this to the real shark fin soup. Now I know how a honey red date looks like. :-)
hmm….nice one! I used to make a lot of soups last time because I am only capable of making soups. Now quite seldom already. After reading your blog, I am thinking of making one next week….Thanks for sharing! :D
I thought for a second it was real sharksfin. So that’s why it’s called spaghetti squash.
ladyironchef, I’m using 50mm f1.8… that’s the lens u’re using too ya ;p
Jun, yes, this is definitely quite Chinese
Susan, hehe try it and you’ll know ;p
tigerfish, I bought it at NTUC =D
lk, me too, I never realise it is also known as spaghetti squash until I search on wiki to find its alternative names. NTUC just label it as sharkfin melon … yes with a name like that I’m sure this soup is fitting for an “emperor” =D
Katie, hehe but they are not exotic to people here, plus I have wrote everything I know on this blog XD
Ning, hi 5! Can’t wait to see what you will make with it :p
delia, hope you like it when you try it on Saturday ^o^
TastesofHome, thanks! hope you find the melon =)
beachlover, Thanks! maybe you should try it one day ;p
lisa, thanks! Now I’m getting used to calling it spaghetti squash too.
didally, thanks girl! and welcome back to Singapore =)
ladyhomechef, thanks for visiting me! Ya Chinese soups are easier to make and healthy too =)
Jude, hehe the title’s quite misleading ya … that’s why I have to add (aka spaghetti squash) and hopefully less people will be confused =x
Congratulations on the one-year anniversary. This is such an interesting post. I’ve grown spaghetti squash in my garden for quite a few years now, and it’s similar but not exactly the same as the shark’s fin melon (at least from what I can see.) It does have the strands that string apart though. I would love to taste your soup.
i just heard about wolfberries yesterday! i didn’t think they were real, but i guess you’d be the second person i’ve seen use them. those dates are really cool. where do you get those different types?
Ooh, thank you thank you, Noobs! I really need more recipes like this – hint, hint :) I’m very interested in shark’s fin melon – never heard of it. Is there another name for it? Perhaps the Cantonese name, if you know it?
Oh! One! Congratulations!
And hey, I didn’t know spaghetti squash was also known as shark’s fin squash! =) Although, it seems to be slightly different. The spaghetti squash here is sort of yellow/orange outside and inside. I’ll keep an eye out for the one you have (white inside, green outside) in our Chinese supermarkets.
I just bought a spaghetti squash, haven’t gotten around to cooking it yet. But this looks like wintermelon to me. The spaghetti squash in the US I see are yellow with very shredded insides so we use them like noodles.
The white and delicacy of this version looks just like shark’s fin indeed!