Don't be afraid to make dishes from fleshy and watery vegetables. With the right spices, it will create an exotic taste that your tongue will fall in love with.
Things that are flashy sometimes do look weird because maybe you are not used to them. Just like for example the strong taste of ginger. It's a bit spicy when we bite into ginger, making some people get rid of ginger to become dominant in a food recipe.
The same thing happened to me. I feel the ginger taste is too strong and if too much is added to a recipe, it will spoil the overall taste of the food. But this time I got the inspiration from recipes on the internet that use ginger. I am trying for the first time to make this recipe with dominant ginger. With courage, and hope that the taste of the end of the dish can be accepted by the tongue, especially the tongue of my family members.
As the main actor of this recipe, I use the fleshy and watery Luffa Gourd. I am very happy to be able to serve Luffa Gourd which my mother has not eaten in a long time.
Luffa Gourd
Have you ever heard of Luffa Gourd? Often also used as a washing sponge or bath when Luffa Gourd is old and dry. Maybe at first glance looks strange with hard skin.
In some conditions, the outer skin of Luffa Gourd is not yet hard and we can cook Luffa Gourd without peeling it. But if it has hardened, (but not too much to cook) then we have to peel the green outer skin.
A popular recipe for serving Luffa Gourd is to stir-fry or make a soup mixed with other vegetables. In Asia, Luffa Gourd is more often served with tofu and sprouts.
This time I will not serve Luffa Gourd with stir-fry or soup, but the recipe I make is still similar to both. The difference is, that this recipe uses thick gravy which comes from soy sauce and corn starch mixture of ingredients.
I hope you enjoy the exotic recipe this time, especially with the visual shoot that spoils your eyes. :)
Preparing Luffa Gourd
To be able to cook, we have to peel the outer skin of the tough Luffa Gourd. Since the texture of the meat on the inside is very soft, it will be in stark contrast to the skin on the outside, so it will greatly interfere with the taste if cooked without peeling it.
In some cases, we will find a young Luffa Gourd, with an outer skin texture that is not too hard. If you want, you can still slice the Luffa Gourd to make a dish without having to peel it. But still, clean some parts that feel hard by scraping the hard part with a knife.
In this recipe, I used two large Luffa Gourds. It's enough for one big family of about 5 people :)
Be very careful to peel the green outer skin of Luffa Gourd. If we are impatient, then the soft inside of Luffa Gourd will be wasted. That would be very detrimental. The inside of this vegetable is not much. So we have to be very careful peeling Luffa Gourd.
After peeling, we can cut it into small pieces with a round shape, or oblique shape, but not too thin so that it is not easily crushed during the cooking process.
Don't Forget the Tenderness of Tofu
The other main actor in this recipe besides Luffa Gourd is the tofu. The softness of the tofu which will be cooked with soy sauce will spoil your tongue!
Do not cut the tofu too small to avoid the texture will crumble when mixed with other ingredients in this recipe.
Complementary Vegetables
Luffa Gourd is rarely served alone. It's always with complementary vegetables that are perfect for stir-fry or soups.
In this recipe, I used mung bean sprouts, carrots, and peas. You can use other types of vegetables that you like, like broccoli, or you can even add mushrooms. Yummy!
After preparing Luffa Gourd, and after washing it clean, I also prepared complementary vegetables.
I sliced the carrots lengthwise. Then I clean the sprouts by removing the roots. For the peas, I removed the right and left sides that still had small stems or hard, inedible parts.
Next, let's prepare the seasoning ingredients to create an exotic taste!
Preparing Seasoning Ingredients
I used onions, red onions, garlic, and red chilies, and the most important ingredient is ginger!
Slice all the ingredients. It's fun, as usual. :)
Likewise, with the ginger, this time I did not slice it too small. But I made an elongated but thin shape. This is because I wanted to create the strong and refreshing taste of ginger's signature.
Do not forget to prepare two tablespoons of salt. Also, prepare 3 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 8 tablespoons of water to later serve as thick gravy.
Then, prepare three tablespoons of soy sauce with vegetable oil, and enough water to prevent the soy sauce from burning when heated with oil.
Cooking Instructions
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THE RESULT
The result is like a creamy soup but it's not. It's more like stir-fried veggies that are thick and creamy. Whatever it's called, I'm blown away by this recipe!
I didn't think that the ginger created a delicious taste on the tongue, (which I was afraid of changing the taste). Although several times there is a sensation of biting fresh ginger, it doesn't matter because the taste is covered by soy sauce. I love it!
That was about how I served Luffa Gourd with tofu in soy sauce and ginger. The thick gravy that is dominated by soy sauce and ginger are the things that still remember the uniqueness of the dish that leads to exotic pleasures. <3
I hope you can find what you deserve to find today. Have a great day, good people, HIVE Lovers!
Thank you for reading my blog and reblog if you want my blog this time worthy of reading by others.
All pictures taken with Iphone 11
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Make sure you follow her blog as well for some interesting discussions about life other than food.
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Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
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