Kitchen Recipe Collection
Winter Melon Tea (Dong Gua Cha)
A wildly popular, sweet, refreshing iced drink from Taiwan. It has a unique, deep caramel flavor with a subtle fruity undertone, made by slow-cooking winter melon with brown sugar.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 110 min
- Servings
- 10
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 10 servings
- 1 kg (about 2 lbs) fresh winter melon (skin on, seeds removed)
- 250g dark brown sugar
- 100g Chinese brown slab sugar (or rock sugar)
- Water (for diluting the syrup later)
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot
- Fine mesh strainer
- Glass jar
Instructions
- 1
Prepare Melon
Wash the outside of the winter melon thoroughly. Do not peel it; the skin provides a lot of flavor. Remove the seeds and spongy center.
- 2
Chop
Chop the winter melon, skin and all, into small, 1/2-inch cubes.
- 3
Macerate
Place the cubes in a large pot. Pour the dark brown sugar directly over the melon. Stir well. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- 4
Release Juices
Through osmosis, the sugar will draw out a massive amount of liquid from the melon. You will not need to add any water to the pot.
- 5
Boil
Place the pot on the stove and bring the melon and its juices to a boil.
- 6
Add Slab Sugar
Add the slab sugar (or rock sugar) to the pot.
- 7
Slow Simmer
Reduce the heat to the absolute lowest setting. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 1.5 to 2 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- 8
Caramelization
The liquid will reduce into a thick, dark, sticky syrup, and the melon cubes will turn translucent and dark brown.
- 9
Strain the Syrup
Turn off the heat. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to extract the thick winter melon syrup. Press the melon chunks to get all the liquid out.
- 10
Store Syrup
Let the concentrated syrup cool, then store it in a glass jar in the fridge. (You can also eat the candied melon chunks!).
- 11
Make the Drink
To serve, add 2-3 tablespoons of the thick syrup into a tall glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes and top with cold water. Stir vigorously.
- 12
Serve
Enjoy the deep, caramelly, refreshing iced tea.
Cooking Tips
- This recipe makes a highly concentrated syrup. Do not drink it straight! It must be diluted with water or tea (about 1 part syrup to 4 parts water).
- Leaving the skin on is the secret to a complex, slightly earthy flavor that balances the intense sweetness of the brown sugar.
Variations
- Winter Melon Lemon Tea: Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the diluted drink for a sweet and sour variation.
Nutrition Estimate
120 calories · 0g protein · 30g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber per serving
