INTRODUCTION

We used to eat braised luffa or sponge gourd and granny usually braised the luffa until very soft that melts in the mouth. That is why, most of us think that luffa cooking time will need to be very long and it cannot be cooked with  other methods other than pan fried braising.

However, I have seen many recipes in the internet and television shows about steaming luffa. Most of the luffa chunks stand very well and therefore it should not be very soft. It does look very delicious in the picture and most if not all recipes called for a short steaming time of about 6-10 minutes. I told myself I must try this cooking method also.

Since I have a package of scallops in my fridge which I do not know how to get rid off, I have decided to pair it with luffa since both requires very short steaming time.

After steaming, I was rather worried about the luffa. I can’t re-steam because over steaming  will make the scallop over cooked and hence chewy. When I took a bite of the luffa, immediately I fell in love with steaming luffa. It has a very different texture, it is very sweet with slight crunchiness.   Do not worry or suspect the doneness of the luffa in this illustration, it is cooked, slightly crunchiness and very sweet.

Expensive seafood is an “enemy” for my kids and my wife. They like humble ingredients and they finished off all the luffa leaving me with the scallops. Obviously, they like the luffa more than the scallops. There is nothing wrong with the scallops. It is just their personal biases about less common seafood that I seldom cooked because of their disliking.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 6-8 Adult Servings

• 2 medium size luffa or sponge gourd
• About 12 big scallops

• 100 grams of minced meat
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of light soya sauce

• 1 tablespoon  of oyster sauce or scallop sauce
• 4 tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Marinate the minced meat with corn flour, sesame oil and light soya sauces for at least 1/2 hour. Set aside.

• Skinned the luffa or sponge gourd and cut into 3 cm thickness. Use a small knife to cut away the core. Take some minced meat and fill the cavity until 3/4 full. Transfer to the steaming plate and put a piece of scallop on top.  Perform the same for all the luffas and scallops.

• In a wok, sauté the minced garlic with cooking oil until slight brownish and fragrant. Add the water follow by oyster sauce. Stir until well mixed. Pour the sauce on top of the scallop and steamed the luffa and scallop under high heat for 6-10 minutes.

CONCLUSION

This is a presentable dish when you are entertaining your guest. My Chinese New Year recipes 2016 will formally end tonight. I also take this opportunity to wish all readers a Happy Chap Goh Mei or Yuan Xiao.

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