Hot and Sweet Soup with Seafood Dumplings

8 oz.	finely chopped lean pork
8 oz.	medium shrimp, peeled, deveined if necessary, and finely chopped
8 oz.	crab meat, picked over
2	scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp	fresh ginger, finely chopped
1	egg white, beaten
8 C	unsalted chicken stock
2 tsp	sweet chili sauce (or substitute 1 tsp crushed hot red-pepper flakes mixed with 2 tsp corn syrup and 1 tsp vinegar)
1/2 C	fresh lemon juice, divided
1 1/2 C	small cantaloupe balls
1/4 tsp	salt

Combine the pork, shrimp, crab meat, scallions, ginger and egg white in a large bowl. Shape heaping teaspoonfuls of the mixture into dumplings about 1 inch in diameter, moistening your palms from time to time to keep the mixture from sticking to them.

Pour the stock into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer and add the chili sauce (or pepper-flake mixture) and 1/4 C of lemon juice. Gently drop half of the dumplings into the hot liquid and simmer them for five minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Drop the remaining dumplings into the liquid and simmer them for five minutes. When the second batch is done, return the first batch of dumplings to the pot. Heat the dumplings through, then add the melon balls, salt, and remaining 1/4 C of lemon juice.

Yield: 8 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Fresh Ways with Soups & Stews, Time-Life Books Healthy Home Cooking series.

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