Ingredients
1 yellow-skinned muskmelon, 50 g (about 1/4 cup) glutinous rice, 35 g (about 1/4 cup) pitted candied dates, 30 g (about 1/4 cup) walnut halves, 25 g (about 2 tablespoons) each of candied lotus seeds and cooked ginkgo nuts, 15 g (about 1 tablespoon) each of candied plums, candied kumquats, and candied citron strips.
Seasonings
75 g (about 2/3 cup) white sugar, 40 g (about 3 tablespoons) raw pork fat, 10 g (about 1 tablespoon) cornstarch.
Instructions
1. Peel the muskmelon, cut a 7 cm square opening at the stem end, remove the piece to use as a lid, scoop out the seeds and pulp, rinse the melon in clean water, then carve diamond-shaped patterns about 0.4 cm deep on the front side of the melon.
2. Rinse the glutinous rice clean, place it in a dish, steam it in a steamer, then remove and mix with white sugar. Fill the melon through the square opening with the other ingredients as needed, cover it with the lid, place it in a bowl, and steam for 20 minutes. Remove, set the melon with the square opening facing up in a soup plate, and surround it with the steamed glutinous rice.
3. Place a wok over high heat, add water and sugar, bring to a boil, then thicken with a water starch slurry and pour over the melon. This dish is soft, sticky, sweet, and delicious.