A Frugal Watermelon Skin Soup aka Masak Titik Recipe

Unless it is absolutely necessary or amounting to an emergency, we would not buy a bagged salad at the supermarket. Bagged baby spinach, iceberg lettuce as washed and separated leaves, even sachets of dressing and croutons are conveniently included in the bagged Cols lettuce for your Caesar salad are pre-eminently displayed in a whole section of the supermarket. It has quietly revolutionised the way we make salad, no longer we are required to trim the the vegetables or cut up the cucumber and tomatoes. All in the name of household convenience -most families these days are dual-income families.Since both the husband and wife are working, there is greater need for convenience in shopping for daily necessities. Nevertheless, it does not equate for the inflated price of a bagged salad as compared to the salad greens that can be easily prepared from scratch at home.
Lots of different kinds of leafy and root vegetables are easily prepared and trimmed at home. A point of interest in our personal pursue of frugal living, we have noticed that all too often, too much is thrown away. Just about every part of most vegetables is edible. Yet we turn up our noses at eating broccoli stalk or discard a corn cob once we've shave off the sweet kernels. Peel that broccoli stalk and add the tender white center to the dish you're cooking like mixed vegetables stir- fly. Save parsley stems, corn cobs and celery tops for flavoring broth or soup. You need not have to peel the potato and carrot if you preparing curry or stew dishes. Before you throw the water melon rinds away, let me show you how you could use them to make a delicious traditional nonya soup "masak titik". We even used the prawn shells and heads to make the stock for this soup! Yes, we are following frugality to the extreme! Think before you throw any food item away. Can you get some value out of it? Even if you don't want to eat it, consider using the item to add flavor and nutrition to a soup stock. Get more mileage out of what you've already paid for.


Masak Titik aka Watermelon Skin Soup Recipe:

250g prawns (reserve the heads and shells for stock)
1tbsp oil
300g watermelon rind
30g shallots or half small onion (coarsely pound)
15g belachan powder (shrimp paste powder)
1/2 tsp white peppercorns
4 pcs chilli padi (bird-eye chilli)
1 litre water
Salt to taste.

Method:

Peel and clean prawns. Reserve the prawn's heads and shells.Coarsely pound the prawn meat and keep aside. To make prawn stock, heat the oil in a heavy gauged pan to fry the prawn shells and heads until dry, roasted and aromatic. This is an important step that gives the soup an unique smokey taste. Add water and allow to boil for 5 minute on medium heat and lower heat to simmer stock for 20 minutes. Strain stock and leave aside. Cut away the outer green outer skin of the watermelon rind. Cut the rind into 4cm cubes. Bring the strained prawn stock to a boil and add pounded onion and prawn meat. Add the peppercorn and belachan powder and bring to boil for about ten to 15 minutes. Add the watermelon rinds and chilli and boil for 10 minutes. Add seasoning to taste and serve hot.