Eight-Treasure Winter Melon and Dried Scallop Soup

Why people make this soup

When the hot months arrive, melons and gourds are the classic Cantonese choice for soup — they are traditionally seen as cooling and refreshing. The trouble is that pure melon soup can feel a little too cold for people with a weaker, more “cold-leaning” stomach. Nourilo’s trick here is to pair the winter melon with an eight-treasure mix of beans, seeds and yam that traditionally support the spleen, so even a second or third bowl sits comfortably. It is a soup the whole family — young and old — can enjoy through summer.