Vegetables · FFET10470
Winter melon (wax gourd)
Winter melon goes into soups and gourd bowls, as well as candy and pastry fillings.
CanonVegetablesWinter melon is a large gourd with a waxy skin, eaten as a boiled or stir-fried vegetable, cooked in soup, or candied. It is also used for soup served inside the gourd, Taiwanese winter melon tea, and fillings for mooncakes and sweetheart cakes.
When
An old agricultural text records methods for growing and preserving winter melon, but the available material does not establish an earliest year. In Hong Kong, soup served in a winter melon is a summer Cantonese dish. Guangdong and Guangxi winter melons reached the market together in spring 2026.1,4,6
Where
Winter melon is native to South and Southeast Asia and has long been cultivated in China. Round gray winter melons are reported growing in Longshan village, Xinzhou town, Yangdong district, Yangjiang, Guangdong.2,4,6
How
Winter melon can be peeled and boiled, stir-fried, or cooked in soup; the hollowed gourd can also serve as a soup bowl. An old preservation method stores the peeled, deseeded flesh in mustard-seed sauce or bean sauce. Sweet preparations include candied winter melon and pastry fillings.1,2,4,5
Why
Winter melon can accompany animal ingredients or be cooked without meat broth. An old culinary text lists bird's nest, fish, eel, and ham as pairings and praises a preparation made without meat broth at a Yangzhou hermitage.3
Impact and influence
Winter melon also appears in festive sweets: candied winter melon is eaten at New Year, and winter melon paste is used in Chinese and Taiwanese mooncake fillings.5