Winter Melon(Dong Gua)

The Americans think winter melon is a fruit, but the Chinese think winter melon is a vegetable. In the western medicine, winter melon has high nutritional value and impressive health benefits for human health. In the traditional Chinese medicine, every part of winter melon plant can be used for the culinary or medical purpose to treat a lot of disease.

Winter melon has a fuzzy interior and pale white flesh. It not only has high nutrition but also high medical purpose in Chinese medicine. The flesh of winter melon can drain dampness, clear heat, transform phlegm, resolve toxicity. As a Chinese herb, it treats the edema, asthma, summer stroke, diabetes, ulcers, heart disease, urinary diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases. Moreover, the seeds of winter melon can drain dampness in the body. Also it can clear heat in the lungs or intestines, transform phlegm in the upper and lower burner, and treat the vaginal turbid yellow discharge. The skin of winter melon is very good for clearing summer heat that prevent summer stroke, reducing swelling to promote the urination, and promote lactation during the pregnancy.

In my family, winter melon is a frequent vegetable on the table. I peel the skin, take off the seeds, cut into a small pieces of the flesh, and then steam them on the stove. After 15 ~ 20 minutes, it turns transparent that it’s good to eat. I love the winter melon because it's very delicious and it can help to lose weight. However, my mother like to use winter melon to make a soup especially in summer time. She usually puts the flesh with the skin without the seeds, yi yi ren, shan yao, pork meat, and add 8 cups of water together to boil 1 hour on the stove. My mother said winter melon is very good for clearing summer-heat in summer, promoting urination and reducing the edema.

Written by Micky Wu