Cut a watermelon, peeling the dark green skin, and reserving the rind.
¼ whole watermelon
Peel and devein shrimp. If using shrimp peel, set aside.
200 g shrimp
(Optional if using shrimp peel, Note 3) Add ½ tbsp of oil to a large pot, and saute shrimp skin and heads for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiled, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove any scum.
200 g shrimp, ½ tbsp neutral oil
Roughly chop and mince shrimp. Add to a bowl and season with ½ tsp black pepper and 1 tsp fish sauce.
200 g shrimp, 1 tsp fish sauce, ½ tsp black pepper
Add ½ tbsp of oil to a large pot, once hot add in shrimp mixture, and saute, roughly separating the pieces. Once 80% cooked, remove from heat, reserving any oil (just barely grey).
½ tbsp neutral oil, 200 g shrimp
To the same pot on medium-high heat, add 1L of water and watermelon rind. Allow broth to come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 20 minutes covered with a lid. After 20 minutes, add in chicken powder, fish sauce and sugar. Mix well and add in cooked saute shrimp. Increase heat to medium-high uncovered and skim any scum for 5-10 minutes. Once rind green part of the watermelon rind is translucent, it's ready.
1 L water, 1 tbsp chicken powder, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar
Garnish soup with green onion, and stir. Enjoy!
1-2 green onion
Keyword no waste recipe, vietnamese soup, watermelon rind, watermelon soup, what to do with unripe watermelon, what to do with unsweet watermelon