Hairy Gourd with Mince Pork

This is a homely stir fry recipe for hairy gourd with mince pork (肉碎). I cooked this dish using leftover marinated mince meat I had from making kau kee soup. You will see this dish (or variations of it) very often at our local economical rice stall. This is a savoury veggie and meat dish which goes very well with rice.

More Chinese Melon Recipes:

• Fuzzy Melon & Clams
• 10-ridged Loofah & Tomato Soup
• Taiwan Loofah Squash & Clams Soup

Hairy gourd is also known as “fuzzy melon” or “marrow green” (毛瓜/节瓜). The name is probably derived from the fine “hairs” on the skin surface, giving it a “fuzzy” appearance. As a substitution, you can use 10-ridged luffa (also common in SG), Taiwan loofah squash or any local melon. In this recipe, I cut the hairy gourd to thin strips (pictured above; this was prep the night before). I love this melon because it is readily available (here in Singapore), cheap (a small whole gourd cost me only $1) and there is a lot of flesh (as compared to its ridged loofah cousin).

This recipe is also very adaptable; sometimes I omit the mince for a meatless version, sometimes I add tang hoon (glass noodles) & simmer with more stock, sometimes I add prawns instead of mince, and sometimes I stir-fry the gourd with dried shrimps for added flavour.