This soup is a very famous Cantonese cuisine. The inside of a winter melon is scooped empty to make an urn. The inside is then filled with soup ingredients, such as herbs, ham, mushrooms, chicken, scallop etc. The whole urn is double steamed for at least four hours and brought out to the dining table. The soup inside together with the melon “flesh” and other ingredients will be scooped out for you to enjoy in your own bowl. The winter melon soup is said to be very nutritious and delicious. Like the other dishes that I introduced to you earlier, this soup is not available in all Chinese restaurants. You also need to reserve it before hand as a special dish. To understand what is double boiling, please check out this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_steaming
I don’t think ordinary people will attempt to make this soup at home, because it involves lots of work. However, I found this blog which has listed out step by step how to make this soup. If you are interested, you may take a look and try it out at home.
http://quaypocooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/double-boil-winter-melon-soup_17.html
FOOD FOR THOUGHT 