丝瓜炒冬粉 Stir-fried Smooth Luffa with Cellophane Noodle

simplified instructions :

1. mince some garlic, saute over hot wok

2. ( optional ) add in, chicken meat / pork / fresh prawn / dried prawn

3. add in the smooth-luffa, stir fry a bit,

4. add in some water, and some cellophane noodle,

5. simmer till everything softened,

6. add salt to taste.

丝瓜汤 Smooth Luffa Soup

I have been having too much sir-fried smooth luffa recently, the vine seems doesn’t stop flowering and fruiting, or stop living for good.

Vowed to stop cooking it for the time being, I was however tempted to try something different with it.  So, I tried a soup version.

It started off exactly the same as stir-fried it with eggs, only to end it with a bowl-full of water pour into the wok, and bring to boil.

Of course, not to forget the salt and msg.

红酒丝瓜炒蛋 Stir-fried Luffa

Handling a stove is both a skill of art and science.   Passion and emotions are 2 important elements impossible to disregard, so are the environmental factors and the ingredients…

This is the n^th-time I stir-fry a luffa within a month’s time, so my luffa-stir-frying skill has improved significantly, but it also resulted in me getting bored with the dish.  The more I wok on it, the better I get.  Yet every time the dish turned out differently. 

My Ongrizinal's conclusion is : every dish is an unique piece work of art..  Never will there be an exact duplication, even it’s the same dish, or exact same ingredients.   

So, this stir-fried luffa is unique on its own. 

Its aroma is slightly different due to the different wine I used : Foochow redwine. 

Its drier, almost no gravy, as no additional water is added.

The eggs taste different, maybe its from another farm.

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丝瓜炒蛋 Stir-fried Luffa with Eggs

It is always in my humble opinion that practice does makes perfects in everything, including cooking.  

My previous stir-fried luffa with egg dish doesn’t seems to be anywhere near perfect.  Its too watery. 

So, this time, I took things a little bit slow and steady. 

First, I saute ( with low flame ) the julienned ginger till its golden and crunchy. 

Then only I fry 2 eggs over the ginger.  ( 1 egg is not enough, so this time I put in 2 eggs )

When the eggs are done, and the wok is steaming hot, I put in all the luffa and stir for a while. ( just a while… 1-2-3-4-5-6 )

Then, pour in a bit ShaoXing Huadiao Wine… ( I don’t know exactly how much ).  Let it sizzling for a while, then stir continously.  

Before the wine dried up, turn down the flame.  Let the luffa cooked through the heat carried by the liquid (wine), and the steam.

Cover the wok. Let it simmer.

As the wine is drying up, the luffa should be already cooked.  If not, drizzle a bit more wine.  Simmer it some more.

If the luffa is cooked and there are still lots of sauce, turn up the flame and stir fry a bit to dry it up.

When it's cook, add a little of salt to taste.

A perfect dish should be dry with minimal sauce.  The egg should still in chunks.

This is not yet perfect.

丝瓜炒虾球 Stir-fried Luffa with Prawn

First, heat oil over medium flame, stir-fry in sliced ginger.

Add in minced garlic as well. 

Then, add in minced meat and skinned prawns. 

When the meat and prawns are half cooked, add in the luffa.

Stir-fry a bit…  Add in some ShaoXing wine ( 绍兴酒 ).

Simmer for a while till the luffa is softened.  Add in bit of water when necessary.

Lastly, a pinch of salt and some oyster sauce ( 蚝油 )to taste.

丝瓜炒蛋 Stir-fried Luffa with Egg

丝瓜 Luffa aegyptiaca ( Luffa cylindrical ), known as smooth luffa, is a close relative of 角瓜Luffa acutangula, ( angled luffa ) which have ridges skin.  Despite the differences in their look, both taste quite similarly in texture and flavour.  

First and foremost peel the luffa.  The skin is tough to chew, harder even to swallow.  Then, cut into bite size.

Julienne some ginger, sauté it over pan.  

Stir fry an egg with the ginger.

Put in all the luffa, stir fry with some FooChow RedWine.

Simmer for a while till the luffa softened. 

Add salt to taste. 

Previously, while cooking angled luffa, I had always put in the egg last, after the luffa is cooked.  But this often resulted in the egg scattered all around, and murky gravy appearance, which is not very presentable. 

Thus, this time, I stir fry the egg first.  The result is very encouraging !