Helper D has been away and it’s been a good break, I think, for all of us. She took a month off (yes I have had many people ask why I gave 4 weeks instead of the requisite 2 weeks) but somehow I think it’s only fair for someone who has to live in with you to be able to go home for a good break.
Anyway a couple of benefits of having the running of the house to myself – managed to do lots of cleaning, reorganizing and decluttering. Yes I did feel annoyed why things weren’t better kept but truth is as an owner you have to have skin in the game and either oversee like a hawk every day or wait (like I did) for helper to go home so that I could fix it. Secondly I got to cook what I love to eat and that’s why I wanted to pop this recipe here for a lovely umami luffa soup.
Luffa gourd (the kind we use in Chinese cooking is luffa actangulus) and is readily available in Singapore because it’s often used in Chinese or Indian cooking. I grew up eating a luffa and egg dish as a kid and somehow had great memories and associations with this simple dish. What is a little less commonly seen is luffa soup which is surprising as the luffa with its gentler blander taste and spongy texture is a great vegetable to have in a soup.
Some of the tricks of choosing a good luffa is to kind of weigh it in your hand – a heavier one probably indicates a younger gourd as the older the luffa is, the drier it gets as the seeds grow and multiply within. When cooking, the luffa needs to be peeled (I usually cut in segments and use a vegetable knife to slide down the sides and remove the green rind). The luffa can usually be cut into triangular chunks; don’t cut them too small as the gourd shrinks with cooking.
For this soup recipe I used dried scallops to add a umami base, alongside with a handful of wolfberries. I think the scallops are the star of the soup but the luffa acts like a best supporting actor/actress. This is a pretty fast soup to prepare and is great for a weeknight dinner! And just for kicks here’s a picture of our dinner tonight (green beans and tofu, turmeric cauliflower rice, chicken curry and luffa soup)!
Luffa Soup
Ingredients
- 5 dried scallops
- 2 cups hot boiled water
- 10-12 wolfberries
- 1 large luffa, peeled and cut into triangular chunks. If you have an older luffa you can cut away the central seeded part
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 3/4 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 4 cups water
- 3 beaten eggs
Soup ingredients
Directions
- Boil 2 cups of water and soak the dried scallops and wolfberries for at least 15-20 minutes. When the scallops are soften, shred them
- Put the scallops, wolfberries and soaking liquid into a pot and simmer for 5-10 mibutes if your scallops are not completely softened, if not go on to the next step.
- Add the minced garlic and luffa and water and simmer for 15 minutes
- Just before serving, bring up the heat so that the soup is barely boiling then slowly add the beaten eggs in a stream. Immediately turn of heat and gently use a fork to swirl the soup so that the eggs set in ribbons.
- Serve hot!
Still Feeling Peckish 