"What's that? Blood?" That was my kids' reaction when I first laid this soup on the dining table. :) "Tomato Soup?" asked Hubby. Nope. It's watermelon soup.
Has anyone heard of watermelon soup? I have made one before with pork. It was refreshingly clean, and sweet and flavorful. It was very, very nice. Exceptional soup, actually. So, when I saw this Chicken Tinola in Watermelon soup in the Yummy Magazine (June 2008 issue), I knew, this is going to taste wonderful as well.
I am not sure if I followed the exact ingredients given in the recipe. I just remember that the magazine recommended processing the watermelon in the blender first. Being the lazy girl that I am, I did not do that. I knew the watermelon is already soft and can easily be mashed anyway.
The following is my version:
1 Kilo chicken pieces (I remove the skin, for healthy reason)
2 Kilos watermelon , seedless variety
3 T canola oil
3 slices fresh ginger
5 T minced garlic
2 T fish sauce (patis)
salt and pepper to taste
1. Slice the watermelon into manageable wedges. Set aside.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok or a heavy soup pan. Add in the ginger and saute until fragrant. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.
3. Add in the chicken meat. Saute until the meat changes color.
4. Scrape all the watermelon meat (include the juices) into the pan with chicken. Discard the skin.
5. Mash the watermelon in the pan a bit. Let the whole soup boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Do not overcook the chicken or the meat is going to be tough.
6. Add in the fish sauce and slt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot with rice or a crusty bread.
Hubby declared this is the best, rich, hearty, flavorful soup he has ever tasted. You really have to try this soup! It is different, and you will not regret it!
Sharing this deliciously warm soup with the Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. To see last week's round-up of deliciously Bookmarked Recipes, please click here.
Watermelon soup??? Wow, I must say I had the same thought in my mind (as your kids) when I saw the first pic!:P
ReplyDeleteI thought you were trying to gross us out...hahaha, but yet you mentioned it's a unique taste and we will not regret it...so this is definitely another one which is not to be judged by its looks!
Very creative, and great job!:D
Does it come across sweet at all? Or do the other ingredients bring it more to the savory side?
ReplyDeletei bet this would be great with a bit of thick yogurt and some curry powder mixed in. very interesting dish.
ReplyDeleteThis is so unique. I love watermelon so I imagine I will like this soup ^_^
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting. Very nice twist on tinola. Is this the stew with malunggay?
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy! :) I have learned that a lot of not so good-looking food can be good-tasting food. This is one of them.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Erik! This is a savoury soup.
Hello We are Never Full! Thanks a lot for your tips! I bet these would indeed enhance the dish! I didn't add any other ingredients because the original Philippine Tinola is actually a very simple soup with very few ingredients. As this is the first time I cooked this Watermelon soup, I wanted the original flavors to come out first before I started adding more ingredients :)
Hello Noobcook! I do hope you get to try it. It's very easy to prepare, and I promise, you will enjoy the taste!
ReplyDelete:)
Hello Jude! Our original tinola has malunggay. I'm sure we can add some to this watermelon soup as well. :)
Watermelon soup? That is really new to me! :O
ReplyDeleteHi Tigerfish! The taste is wonderfully different. You've got to try this!
ReplyDeleteWhat an unusual soup! Thank you for sharing it. I took the watermelon idea further and made what I call "tinola-kol" (tinola-binakol). I added onions, shredded buko, and chopped spinach to your recipe. The result was delicious. I also made the soup extra gingery since it's gotten cold up her in Canada. Thanks again for posting the recipe.
ReplyDeleteThank you Patty! I really appreciate your sharing with me your take on the Watermelon soup! I'm sure your soup is delicious! Will have to try that, too! Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteHi Ning, I'd never have thought you could make watermelon soup, but i love the sound of this. Delish
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending it into the round up
my hubby loves watermelon! this is really cool! few ingredients and easy to cook! thank you very much for this recipe!!! =)
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious. Thanks for the recipe
ReplyDelete