question re luffa / silk gourd / Chinese okra

[eugenep]

I made a dish out of these using Fuchsia's recipe braised with chicken stock yesterday. 

 

Is there more information (web link, book etc.) on the cooking qualities of the plant? - how to use etc.? 

 

I believe it's cooked with stock in a braise bc it's quality is like the eggplant / aubergine where it is able to absorb a lot of the water/stock that it is cooked in? 

 

Also, there are light green and dark green luffas at the market. Which one is the younger one? I know I need to select the younger but not sure how to choose. 

 

Any more info on the property of luffa (from a cooking standpoint would be appreciated) 

 

thank you 

 

[liuzhou]

My favourite way to cook them is my attempt at a dish served in a small restaurant near my countryside home. They slice them into segments about 3 - 4 inches long, topped with finely chopped and fried garlic, then steamed.

 

 

But the most common way  of cooking here is to roll cut them then simply stir fry them. They also go well with eggs or tofu (again stir fried).

 

The two different types are not a matter of age. They are distinct cultivars. The light ones are Luffa acutangula whereas the darker ones are Luffa aegyptiaca. The light coloured ones are generally my preference. The darker ones have a rougher skin and I tend to use them in soups more. You definitely don't want to be eating old luffa, but then no market should be selling it, unless as a scrubbing sponge / exfoliant.

 

Sadly, now is not luffa season.

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by liuzhou (log)