Hairy Gourd Salted Egg Drop Pork Soup

A light yet flavourful Asian-style soup made with hairy gourd, salted duck egg, pork, vermicelli, and fish balls for a comforting meal.  Freestyling in the kitchen again! This comforting bowl with pork, fish balls, and salted egg strands was a flavour bomb #HairyGourdSoup

Freestyling again today—but not because of fridge leftovers this time. It all started with a curious vegetable my wife spotted at the Asian grocery: hairy gourd. Also known as fuzzy melon or mo qua, this oddly named vegetable isn’t something I grew up with back in the Philippines. We typically cook with bottle gourd, bitter gourd, wax gourd, luffa, and of course, squash. Hairy gourd? Not so much. I don’t even remember seeing it at the wet markets growing up.

But it’s fairly common in other parts of Asia, particularly in Chinese cuisine. The first time I encountered it was during my stint in Hong Kong back in the early 2000s. I often saw it used in soups, paired with glass noodles or fish balls. Despite its popularity, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually cooked with it. So today, I embraced the unknown and treated it as a fun kitchen challenge.

The Inspiration Behind This Bowl

Whenever I encounter a new ingredient and feel uncertain about how to use it, my go-to method is usually a stir-fry—it’s quick, adaptable, and hard to mess up. But this time, I decided to take a different route and turn it into a soup. Why? Because soups are wonderfully forgiving. They allow flavours to meld gently, offer room for improvisation, and bring a sense of warmth and comfort that’s hard to beat. Hairy gourd, with its naturally mild flavours and tender texture, lends itself beautifully to a clear broth. It absorbs surrounding flavours while maintaining its delicate character. I wanted to honour that simplicity, but also introduce a subtle twist to make the dish feel fresh and a little unexpected.

Instead of the usual egg on an egg drop soup, I reached for salted duck eggs. They have this rich, briny character that adds depth and umami to whatever dish you add them to. The result? Silky ribbons of salted egg floating in a light yet flavour-packed broth, made even better with thin slices of pork, fish balls, dried shiitake mushrooms, and vermicelli noodles to give it that familiar Asian soup vibe.

What is Hairy Gourd?

Don’t be put off by the name—hairy gourd (or mo qua, 毛瓜) gets its name from the soft fuzzy coating on its skin, which you usually peel off before cooking. The flesh is mildly sweet and tender when simmered, absorbing the flavours around it. It doesn’t overpower your soup but blends right in, which is what made it such a popular ingredient in Cantonese kitchens.

It’s Okay to Freestyle

Cooking doesn’t always have to be by the book. This dish was built on intuition, memory, and a bit of culinary imagination. The combo of pork and shiitake gave it savouriness, the fish balls brought bounce and sweetness, while the salted egg added richness. And the hairy gourd? It mellowed everything out with its soft, sponge-like texture. A few bowls later, and it’s safe to say: this soup might just become a regular in our kitchen.