Loofah / Luffa is one of our favorite Chinese vegetables. It's spongy and sweet and super good for you. This 3 ingredient Loofah / Luffa Stir Fry is easy to make and delicious with a bowl of rice!
A family friend grows loofah / luffa and kindly shared a few pieces from a recent harvest! She said they're easy to grow, especially during the later half of summer.
You can make many different dishes with loofah. One of my favorite and the most straightforward way to enjoy loofah is as a stir fry! It's popular stir fried with eggs or chicken, and even dried shrimp. It's also super delicious in soup.
But if you want to keep things really simple, just stir fry the loofah with garlic and fish sauce. That's what we do for this recipe ^_^
What Is Loofah / Luffa?
Loofah is a popular Chinese vegetable (it's technically a fruit, but everyone calls it a vegetable). It's green on the outside and white on the side. Loofah looks like a giant cucumber and when cooked, it's very spongy and tender.
There are two main types of loofah:
- The plump ones with smooth skin (smooth loofah).
- The more narrow ones with deep ridges (ridged loofah).
We use smooth loofah for this recipe, it's easier to cook with and also seems to be more common in Hawaii.
Loofah goes by many different names:
- Loofah
- Luffa
- Sponge Gourd
- Chinese Okra
- See Gua (that's what we call it in Cantonese)
- Silk Melon
Depending on the age of the loofah, you may need to peel the skin before cooking. We had young loofah for this recipe, so did not need to peel the skin.
If you let loofah fully mature, it's no longer edible. Why? Because it's too fibrous. A fully mature loofah can be used to make loofah sponges. Yes, like the loofah sponges you use in the bath!
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Loofah / luffa
- Garlic
- Fish sauce / nuoc nam
Instructions
Let's get cooking:
First, prepare the loofah / luffa.
Wash and dry. Then slice at an angle into ½-inch wide pieces.
Cook the garlic.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil followed by the minced garlic. Cook the garlic until it just starts to turn golden.
Add the loofah and season.
Then add the sliced loofah. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until it softens. Season with the fish sauce / nuoc nam.
Add water.
Gradually add ½ cup water to the pan. Add less water if you want it less saucy.
Keep cooking for another couple of minutes until the loofah is soft and tender and about half of the liquid has evaporated.
Season more if needed, and finish!
Taste, and if you want the dish more flavorful, season with extra fish sauce (or add a pinch of chicken bouillon).
Give everything one last stir to combine. Then it's ready! Enjoy hot. Best with a big bowl of rice.
Top Tip
For more flavor, add chicken broth instead of water ^_^
FAQ
Leftovers keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments.
- Add a little minced ginger. Cook it the same time you cook the garlic.
- We keep dried baby shrimp (the tiny kind we use in dishes like this and this) in the fridge and often add a spoonful to this dish. Start cooking the shrimp right before you add the garlic. It just needs a minute to warm up.
- Add scrambled eggs! Beat two eggs and add them to the pan after the loofah is cooked (add the eggs right after Step 6 in the recipe below is complete). I like to add 2 eggs for every 1 loofah. Note: This is almost like Chinese Tomato Egg, but instead...Loofah Egg!
If you have young loofah, the skin is soft and you don't need to peel the skin before cooking.
If the skin feels rough, that means the loofah is more mature and you need to peel the skin before cooking.
FYI: When I purchase loofah from the market I usually need to peel the skin. It's only when we are given homegrown loofah that the skin is super smooth and doesn't need peeling ^_^
Loofah / Luffa Stir Fry Recipe
Loofah / Luffa Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large loofah / luffa
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce / nuoc nam
Instructions
- First prepare the loofah / luffa. Wash and dry. Then slice at an angle into ½-inch wide pieces.
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil followed by the minced garlic. Cook the garlic until it just starts to turn golden.
- Then add the sliced loofah. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until it softens.
- Season with the fish sauce / nuoc nam.
- Then gradually add ½ cup water to the pan. Add less water if you want it less saucy.
- Keep cooking for another couple of minutes until the loofah is soft and tender and about half of the liquid has evaporated.
- Taste, and if you want it more flavorful, season with a little more fish sauce (or add a pinch of chicken bouillon).
- Give everything one last stir to combine. Then it's ready! Enjoy hot. Best with rice.
Mahalo for Reading!