Luffa Tomato Soup
Ever since I discovered luffa (I know I am slow), I have been cooking this dish (adapted from my friend’s Teczcape’s luffa tomato soup) repeatedly. It is a soup and veg dish in one, light tasting and also very healthy. Since luffa flesh is spongy, it readily absorbs any nice broth it is cooked in. Sometimes I also add some mung bean noodles (tang hoon) to soak up all that nice soup and to transform it into a simple one-dish meal.
See Also:
If you have ready soup stock on hand (if not you can use instant chicken stock like I did), you can whip this up in 20 minutes from start to finish. You can also use plain water and season it to your liking (salt, pepper/ soy sauce/ikan bilis).
This is luffa aka angled gourd/ridge gourd/sponge gourd (丝瓜). Strangely, I have seen it all my life, but it never occurred to me to find out what it tasted like or how to cook it. I’m glad I tried it. Do you know each gourd has exactly 10 ridges? Read this post to find out more about this vegetable.
Luffa Tomato Soup Recipe
Instead of soup stock, you can also use plain water and season it to taste (salt, pepper/ soy sauce/ ikan bilis etc).
Ingredients:
- half large luffa/angled gourd (250 to 300 grams before cut)
- 1 tomato cut to wedges
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 onion roughly sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
- 250 ml chicken (vegetable) stock
- 3 slices ginger
Directions:
- Prep luffa by removing the skin using a peeler, then slice into halve lengthwise. Remove and discard the seeds. Cut the luffa flesh to bite-sized chunks. View this post for more info.
- In a wok, heat cooking oil and sesame oil. Stir fry the garlic and onions until the latter is softened. Add tomato and luffa. Stir fry briefly to bring out the flavours.
- Add chicken stock and ginger. Bring to boil, cover with lid and simmer for about 5 minutes until the luffa is soft.
