Crab meat, winter melon and egg white over rice
Diced winter melon simmered until translucent, then lightly thickened with crab meat and egg white and spooned over hot rice — sweet, silky and refreshing in the heat.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yin-deficient people already run hot inside, with a dry mouth and restlessness, and Minor Heat's sweating drains fluids further, bringing on heat and poor sleep. Winter melon clears heat, generates fluids and eases restlessness, crab clears heat and nourishes yin, and egg white moistens. The saucy rice is sweet and easy to eat, and winter melon is cheap and at its best now.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min- 1Peel and seed the winter melon and cut into 1 cm dice. Lightly beat the egg whites.
- 2Bring the water and ginger to the boil, add the melon and cook over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes until translucent and tender. Remove the ginger.
- 3Add the crab meat and simmer for 1 minute. Season with salt, then slowly stir in the cornflour mixture until lightly thickened.
- 4Turn off the heat and drizzle in the egg whites, stirring gently, until they set into soft white clouds.
- 5Spoon the melon and crab over the hot rice and scatter with coriander.
Cautions
- Crab and winter melon are cold: go easy if your digestion is weak or you get loose stools, and avoid if you react to shellfish.
Chef's tips
- Add the egg whites off the heat and stir as you pour for pretty white ribbons; diced white fish works if you have no crab.
The TCM view
Winter melon is sweet, bland and slightly cold, clearing heat, generating fluids and easing restlessness — a classic summer food. Crab is salty and cold, clearing heat and nourishing yin; egg white is sweet and cool, clearing heat and moistening the lungs. A light cornflour sauce keeps it silky. Cooling and moistening without being rich, it nourishes yin while clearing summer heat.
