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Melon, Kei Chi and Carrot Quick Soup

Here's a quickie soup for those of you pressed for time (aren't we all? Sometimes I think we're like ants. Busy busy and busier!)

Melon, Kei Chi and Carrot Soup is my invention but it tastes pretty good I must say!

I made it two nights ago, after a long day at work. But the beauty of this soup is that it takes all of 30 minutes or less to boil and you can get instant soup (my other instant soup lifesaver is instant miso which I dump into hot water, add some tofu cubes and spring onions and I am ready to go. But that's another story for another day, ya?)

Melon, Kei Chi and Carrot Soup

You need:

1 small melon (you know the fat, green ones - peel skin and cube, with seeds on. Do not throw away the seeds.)
1/2 a carrot, cubed or sliced, up to you
1 tablespoon kei chi/wolfberries, soaked in water to hydrate
1/2 cup minced pork, marinated with 1 tsp cornflour, some salt and pepper and some sesame oil
1 liter water
2 cloves garlic, smashed with back of a cleaver
1 slice ginger, smashed with back of a cleaver

Bring water to boil in a pot. Once water is boiling, add in the ginger, melon cubes, carrot and kei chi. Boil for 10 minutes and then reduce fire, so that soup simmers.

In a pan, heat up some oil and saute garlic until almost brown. Stir this into the soup. This gives the soup a deeper flavour and a sheen of oil.

After 15 minutes of simmering, turn up the heat so that soup is boiling again. Form balls with the minced pork and add to the soup. When you drop the minced pork balls into the soup, a fast boiling soup makes the meat balls cook faster too.

Season soup with salt, sugar and pepper. Add a little soya sauce too if you like.

Turn down heat and slowly simmer for another 10 minutes. And voila, it's ready to be served.

(Before you serve, please remove the ginger slice. It's not fun to bite into ginger!). As for the garlic, it would have melted into the soup so there's no need to scoop it out.

Quick isn't it? Now you go try it and tell me how it goes!

See ya!

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