Wintermelon Tofu Lemongrass Soup

         30 days, what was our brief summer break, has come and gone--and school has commenced again. Our pre-clinical curriculum continues until the end of this year, then after winter break we'll commence with clinical rotations. As much as we're preparing academically, I've also been preparing culinarily. That is, discovering the utility of the freezer. Now, instead of having to work through all of what I make in one go, I'm able to portion out servings and save some for later in the freezer. All my glass peanut butter jars came in handy after all. In general, soups/stews have frozen well, as well as some vegetable dishes. Another favorite are breakfast foods, such as granola bars, or these amazing 'golden' (turmeric) no-bake coconut macaroons from The Minimalist Baker. They're so easy to make and store, but certainly the easiest to eat. The flavor of turmeric mellows out and complements the coconut, and a generous drizzle + bottom coat of dark chocolate smooths things out with a nice bittersweet tone. 

        Anyways, back to the savory dish at hand. I loved the flavors in this recipe, a refreshing tang and spice with a variety of textures. Best of all, it's essentially a complete meal, just lacking a side of leafy greens/fruit. After buying a stalk of lemongrass from the local farmers market last fall, it's now become a respectable bush in my little plot of 'front lawn.' To keep it a manageable size, I try to use it regularly and have generally been pretty successful with soups/sauces. This time I combined it with some dried chilies, ginger, lemon zest/juice and fish sauce to make the base for this soup. The coconut milk came in at the end when I realized I was a bit ambitious with the peppers (I only used two!!). The rest of the soup included pearled barley, firm tofu, and of course-- wintermelon. Yes, summer wintermelon is an oxymoron. What is wintermelon? It's essentially the tofu of the squash family; it has no real flavor of its own but does a great job retaining the flavor of whatever it's cooked in which warrants its use in soups. Like any other squash or melon, the wintermelon, or 冬瓜, grows during the summer, and actually has relatively warm temperature weather requirements. So why the name wintermelon? That's due to the fact it can be stored for long periods of time, up to 12 months according to some sources. Apparently in some areas in China, it was one of the few vegetables available over the winter. The whitish sheen of a mature wintermelon might also contribute to its name. In terms of size, they're comparable to watermelons, though can easily be larger, clocking in at about 30-40lbs. They're *great* for sharing, and my mother gushes about their weight loss benefits...I mean what can you expect when you're literally eating water and fiber?

         Before moving on to the recipe, I wanted to mention a quote from Samin Nosrat, author of the cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat in a interview she did: "This is one of my issues of recipes--is that they sort of give you this false sense of safety that all of the thinking and sensory monitoring has been done for you..." I couldn't agree any more--and it's a great disclaimer for my recipes. They're generally guidelines more than something to follow down to a T, so feel free to adapt accordingly!

|| Wintermelon Tofu Lemongrass Soup ||

Ingredients

• 2 stalks lemongrass, chopped finely
• 2 dried chilies* 
• 1 Tb. finely chopped ginger
• 1 Tb. sesame oil
• 1/2 Tb. lemon zest
• 1 Tb. fish sauce
• 2 Tb. lemon juice
• 4-5 cups peeled/seeded wintermelon, chopped into 1" chunks
• 3/4 cup pearled barley
• 1 box firm tofu, diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• salt to taste
• fresh cilantro to taste

* adjust to personal preference, I found 2 to be plenty for me!

Directions

1. Crush lemongrass, chilies, zest and ginger together in mortar and pestle. Add to large pot along with sesame oil. Stir frequently over medium-high heat for a few minutes. 
2. Add wintermelon and barleyto the pot, then add salt, fish sauce and lemon juice to the pot as well as enough water to cover the wintermelon (around 5-6 cups). Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. The wintermelon should become more transparent. Add in tofu and stir. 
3. Continue cooking for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until wintermelon is transparent and barley has softened. Add the coconut milk and remove from heat.
4. serve with finely chopped cilantro and enjoy!