Vietnamese Stir Fried Loofah/Luffa- Muop Xao

The Squid 🦑 Games… Part I: Cooking With Squid

This was one of my favorite vegetables growing up and my dad grew these along with many other types of asian squashes & gourds since they were harder to find in Kansas.

Luffa or loofah (botanically Luffa aegyptiaca) is a vine-grown member of the pumpkin, squash and gourd family.

Some of you have also asked, “what is Squid fish sauce?”. Squid is just a brand of fish sauce but it’s just normal fish sauce. Use it as you would any other fish sauce. I particularly love to use this fish sauce for cooking because it’s less expensive than Red Boat or 3 Crab.

Fish Sauce is the single most important ingredient in Thai & Vietnamese cooking. Squid fish sauce is well-known in asian cuisine as a premium and delicious gourmet fish sauce. Learn more about Squid Fish Sauce -here-.

I made these vegetarian but this is also really good with chicken or shrimps (aka muop xao tom).

INGREDIENTS

1 large loofa gourd
2 tbsp. neutral oil (YouYou, or canola oil)
4 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
1 lb. loofah gourd (peeled, cut into 1½” bite size pieces)
1 tsp fish sauce
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper (to taste)
Pinch of sugar (to taste)
2 tbs+ water

PREPARATION

1. Peal garlic and loofa. Heat oil in a 10″ flat-bottomed wok cast iron skillet or wok over high heat until oil is shimmering and glossy.
2. Add garlic and stir-fry until light lightly brown and fragrant, about half minute.
3. Add loofah and 2 tbsp. water, ground white pepper, pinch of sugar and salt, and 1-2 teaspoons fish sauce to pan.
4. Cook, stirring, until gourds are cooked, about 2-4 min. You'll see the loofa whites start to get a little transparent and glossy. Test it by tasting one of the loofa’s, when you take a bite make sure it's cooked through.

5. Taste sauce, add more fish sauce/salt/pepper to taste.

Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with a little fresh cracked pepper.