Top 10 Most Delicious Dishes Prepared with Bottle Gourd

Ingredients:

• 50g pork (you can choose lean meat or slightly fatty meat)
• 1 medium-sized bottle gourd
• 1 onion
• 2 spring onions
• spices
• cooking oil.

Instructions:

• Thinly slice the pork and marinate with spices and a little cornstarch, let it sit for about 10 minutes.
• After peeling and cleaning the bottle gourd, cut it lengthwise and then diagonally into slices.
• Thinly slice the onion and chop the spring onions.
• Heat a pan over medium heat, add a little cooking oil, then stir-fry the onion until fragrant, followed by adding the pork and stir-frying until cooked.
• Once the pork is cooked, add the bottle gourd and stir-fry together, season to taste, depending on the type of bottle gourd used, if it releases water while cooking, add water during stir-frying to prevent the dish from drying out.
• When the bottle gourd is cooked, turn off the heat, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and pepper, then mix well.

Ingredients:

• 250g assorted leafy greens, washed (such as Sesbania Grandiflora, Malabar Spinach, or mixed greens... depending on preference)
• 1 bottle gourd
• 300g crab
• 1.5 liters water
• Shallots (green onions, dried shallots)

Instructions:

• Chop the greens into bite-sized pieces. Cut the bottle gourd into wedges.
• Clean the crab by rinsing it in water, remove the shell and innards.
• Bring the crab water to a boil over medium heat; boiling it too vigorously may cause it to overflow and the crab roe to break. Once the crab water has coagulated into a jelly-like consistency, add some crushed shallots, season with spices, push the crab roe to one side, and when the water boils again, add the bottle gourd first. When the bottle gourd is almost cooked, add the greens and quickly remove from heat. Garnish with chopped green onion tops.

Ingredients:

• Cleaned frog: 300 - 400 gr;
• Bottle gourd: 2 pieces;
• Scallions: 2 stalks
• Dried shallots: 1 bulb
• Seasonings: Seasoning powder, soup powder, MSG.
• Cooking oil.

• Clean the frog, cut into bite-sized pieces. Grill the frog skin over fire for a crispier texture when stir-frying. Marinate the frog meat with half a teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of good fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil, finely chopped dried shallots. Marinate for about 15 - 20 minutes. Peel and clean the bottle gourd, cut into bite-sized pieces. Cut scallions into sections.
• Then, heat a pan with some cooking oil and stir-fry the frog over high heat. When the frog meat firms up, becomes tender, transfer to a plate.
• Using the same pan, add a bit more cooking oil, finely chopped dried shallots and stir-fry the bottle gourd, add a bit of soup powder. Then add the frog meat and quickly stir-fry. Adjust seasoning to taste, finally add scallion flowers and turn off the heat.
• Soft, fragrant angled luffa with frog will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. When buying frog, avoid choosing overly large ones, opt for medium-sized ones for tender and easy-to-eat meat and bones.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pieces of bottle gourd.
• 100g dried shrimp
• 10-20 wolfberries, seasoning…

Instructions:

• Peel and halve the bottle gourd, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
• Place the dried shrimp in a bowl, pour warm water to cover. Soak for about 20 minutes.
• Gently squeeze the shrimp to remove sand, debris, and dry thoroughly. Then, lightly crush the shrimp in a mortar.
• Sauté a small amount of dried shallots until fragrant, using minimal oil. Then add enough water (bone broth if available), add dried shrimp, bring to a boil.
• Once the soup boils, reduce the heat, let it simmer for the shrimp flavor to infuse. Then add the bottle gourd, season to taste. Before serving, sprinkle with a little ground pepper, finely chopped scallions.