Loofah Clam Soup
Here in Taipei, I try to cook with ingredients which is harder to find back home. The loofah gourd (絲瓜) aka loofah (luffa) squash or melon fits the bill of an example of a common gourd in Taiwan, but rarely found in Singapore (correct me if I am wrong). This loofah clam soup (絲瓜蛤蜊湯) is both a vegetable and soup in a bowl, and cooks in under 15 minutes. It is a very popular Taiwanese homecooking dish (家常菜).
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The Taiwanese loofah tastes much like the angled luffa we have back home, but it is meatier and easier to prepare. I’m so glad that I get to cook with this ingredient during my short stay here.
This is a crate of loofah squash at a Taipei market. I don’t know the reason, but loofah is always wrapped in bubble wrap, even at the supermarkets. Don’t worry though if you can’t find the same variety of Taiwan loofah to make this recipe. It can be substituted with fuzzy/hairy melon (very common in SG), ridged luffa or winter melon.
How to prepare Taiwanese loofah squash. Just peel & discard the outer skin with a vegetable peeler, then cut the flesh to uniform chunks. The loofah seeds are not prominent, so they need not be removed. Don’t cut the chunks too small, if you are putting them into a soup, as they will shrink during simmering.
How to prepare clams. They need to be scrubbed then soaked in salt water for 1-2 hours in advance, so that all the sand and grit can be purged out. The clams add an instant depth of seafood umami to the loofah soup.
When the soup is done, just garnish with thin strips of ginger and chopped spring onions. You can also add glass noodles or vermicelli to convert it into a one-dish meal.
Loofah Clam Soup Recipe
Ingredient substitution: Replace loofah squash with local squash such as winter melon, fuzzy melon (gourd) or ridged loofah.
Ingredients:
- 300g fresh local clams (such as “lala”, manilla or asari)
- 1 level tbsp fine sea salt for cleaning the clams
- half loofah squash (about 300 to 400g)
- 200 ml chicken stock or replace with water and season with more salt to taste
- 400 ml water
- 10g ginger sliced thinly
- 2 tbsp rice wine (or substitute with sake)
- 3 thin slices ginger julienned (short thin strips); to garnish
- chopped spring onion to garnish
- 1/8 tsp sea salt to taste
- 1/8 tsp white pepper powder to taste
- few drops of sesame oil
Directions:
- Clean and de-grit the clams. Scrub the clams with a hard-bristle brush. Put clams in a bowl of water with 1 tsp sea salt. Let the clams soak in the salted water for 1-2 hours, allowing the sand and grit to be purged out. Discard the water and rinse the clams. Set aside.
- Prepare loofah squash. Using a vegetable peeler, peel and discard the outer skin. Cut loofah flesh to uniform chunks.
- Make loofah clam soup. In a soup pot, bring chicken stock and water to boil. Add cut loofah and ginger slices. Simmer for a few minutes, until the loofah just started to turn translucent. Add clams and cook for 2-4 minutes more, until the clams are opened. Add rice wine and simmer for another 15 seconds. Discard any clams still closed after cooking. Season the soup with salt and white pepper.
- To serve, ladle clams and soup to serving bowls. Garnish with remaining ginger, chopped spring onions and sesame oil.