Luffa (Loofah) Salad 麻油拌丝瓜

In-season Luffa (loofah) (which happens to be now!) is fresh, young and tender. Quite typically, I like to make a quick "stew-like" stir-fry in my kitchen, with eggs e.g. Luffa with Eggs; or tomatoes e.g. Luffa with Tomatoes. Occasionally I also cook them with clams - a popular Taiwanese-style dish.

However, when I watched on television, how a Chinese chef preparing it so quickly, blanching 10 seconds then served in a carrot puree/sauce, I was motivated to try this quick-cooking method.


The chef highlighted that this way of cooking luffa will render the luffa still crisp with a tender bite, compared to the soft spongy texture of luffa when stir-fried and simmered like a quick stew.

For today, I will omit the sauce on this quick-cooked luffa. It means one-less step, less hassle and less cooking time. And surprise surprise surprise, I really enjoyed this other dimension of luffa - fresh and tender with a firm bite.





Luffa (Loofah) Salad 麻油拌丝瓜
Ingredients:
1 medium-size fresh luffa, peeled, then sliced to remove the center spongy seeds area, and further sliced to finger-length (shown above)
[Dressing]: 2 tsp sesame oil, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, 1 small thinly sliced chili

Directions: Boil a pot of water and when boiling, turn off heat, then pour the boiling water over sliced luffa and let it sit for 3 minutes. Drain away water. Add dressing then give it a good toss. Serve.


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Tag: luffa salad, loofah salad

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