Soybean, Kelp, and Winter Melon Soup

Soak the kelp until soft, wash it clean, and cut it into small pieces.

Soak the soybeans for half an hour and wash them clean.

Soak the dried oysters in warm water to rehydrate and rinse them clean.

Soak the coix seeds for half an hour and then rinse them clean.

Blanch the lean meat in boiling water to remove the scum.

Peel the ginger and crush it.

Put the above ingredients into a soup pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat for 10 minutes, then simmer over low heat for about 1.5 hours.

Wash the wax gourd and remove the white powder on its skin, then cut it into small pieces. (The skin of the wax gourd has the effect of clearing heat and reducing swelling, so do not remove it.)

After the soup had been cooking for about 1.5 hours, check if the coix seeds are soft.

Add the winter melon, turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil, then switch to medium-low heat and simmer for half an hour.

Cook the winter melon until soft, then add salt to season. (I usually don't add salt because the dried oysters are already salty.)