Winter Melon Soup

• 3 1/2 lbs. winter melon
• 1/2 c. chicken, cooked and diced
• 6 water chestnuts, diced or celery or Chinese yam
• 1/2 c. ham, sliced
• 1/2 c. pearl barley
• 1/2 c. bamboo shoots, diced.
• 1/2 c. ginko nuts
• 1 can (2 oz.) mushroom stems/pieces
• 1/2 c. round onion, diced
• 1/4 c. green onion, finely cut
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Ajinomoto
• 8 c. soup stock or chicken broth

1. Soak pearl barley overnight and cook in 2 c. water until tender.
2. Cut off top of melon, clean out seeds.
3. Place melon standing up in a pyrex bowl.
4. Mix all soup ingredients into soup stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove ingredients from soup stock into melon.
6. Add 2 cups of soup stock into the melon. (The rest of the hot stock can be used for soup.)
7. Place the filled melon in the pyrex bowl into a steamer or deep pot with tight cover. Fill pot with water to 3/4-depth of the pyrex bowl containing the melon.
8. Steam for 2 hours; keep water level constant.

NOTE: Delicious on a cool evening!
Add any leftover ingredients to soup.