Let’s learn how to make Braised Luffa With Egg Beancurd, also known as Sheng Gua Tofu. This is a basic but popular tofu dish served in many Chinese restaurants. This dish is a delicious combination of stir fried juicy texture-filled luffa with smooth deep fried egg bean curd in a rich savoury gravy. Goes perfectly with steamed rice.
1Luffa, or sweet gourd, 300g, cut into long strips
Seasonings:
1tspoyster sauce
1tbsplight soy sauce
¼tspsalt
¼tspground white pepper
¼tspchicken stock granules
150mlwater
Thickening Solution:
1tspcornstarch
2tbspwater
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Instructions
Preparing Ingredients:
Have ready all ingredients needed to cook the dish, namely egg beancurd, Luffa, ginger, garlic and cooking oil.
Prepare all the seasonings for the dish, namely oyster sauce, light soy sauce, salt, ground white pepper, chicken stock granules, water and cornstarch solution.
In a bowl, add all the seasonings and mix well for later use.
Then skin and cut luffa into thick pieces. Set aside while we prepare other ingredients.
Next cut the egg beancurd into 4 cm strips or any size suited.
Next peel and chop garlic and ginger. Set aside for later use. And we are ready to cook the dish.
Cook Braised Luff With Bean Curd:
Start by heating up oil in wok. Deep fry the prepared egg beancurd in hot oil till just golden brown. Dish out and drained well of excess oil. Arrange the golden beancurd onto a serving plate.
Clean wok briefly. Then heat up 1 tbsp oil. Sauté chopped garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in cut luffa and give it a few quick stir till aromatic. Then add in seasonings and water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for about 2 minutes till the luffa soften. Stir well.
Thicken the braised luffa with cornstarch mixture to the right consistency. Pour the braised luffa over the fried beancurd and the plate of braised luffa with egg beancurd is ready to be served hot.
This dish is best served with piping hot rice and enjoyed with hot Chinese tea. So Enjoy!
When buying luffa, choose one that is as straight as possible from top to bottom. Also the bottom should not be too big. The colour of luffa should be dark green and looks fresh. It should be slightly heavy about 300-400g per gourd. Avoid buying luffa with bruise marks or traces of damage. When pressed, the skin must be hard and firm on the inside.
If the luffa is old, the skin will be slightly greyish. When pressed, the skin is hard but the insides are soft. This means the seeds are old, fibrous and unpleasant to eat.
All the sharp edges of the luffa need to be removed. Otherwise the sweet gourd will taste bitter.
Once the skin of luffa has been removed, wash and clean before cutting. Do not wash the luffa after cutting as they absorb a lot of water and can release too much water into the dish.
Do not add too much water when cooking the luffa. You can always add more if needed. Some prefer to have more gravy in the dish to serve with rice. So just adjust to your liking and taste.