Luffa Vegetable Recipes - Simmer Luffa with Clams/Pipis
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Luffa vegetable recipes series 1 - simmer luffa with clams/pipis
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Luffa is one of my favourite vegetables, and this simmered luffa with clams or pipis brings back so many childhood memories. It was one of the regular dishes my mom made for dinner. I especially loved scooping the flavorful broth into my bowl of rice, then enjoying it with a soft piece of luffa—mmm, so comforting and delicious!
Sometimes, my mom would add a special kind of thin noodle to the dish, and it was sooo good! Sadly, that specific type of noodle has become rare in Taiwan and nearly impossible to find in Australia. But don’t worry—this luffa and clam dish also goes wonderfully with other types of thin noodles, like glass noodles (the kind used in cold noodle recipes) or even thin wheat noodles like “hairy” pasta.
I truly love luffa, and it can be cooked in so many delicious ways. This simmered luffa with clams or pipis is the first recipe in my luffa vegetable recipes series—so come along, follow my steps, and let’s cook together!
Difficulty: simple
Health benefits: Gluten-free, good protein from clams/pipis, good fibre from luffa, and antioxidants from goji berries. Fresh and Not Greasy at all!
Time: 15 minutes
Serve: 2-3 serves (Although I can finish it all myself 😋)
Ingredients
Luffa: 1 (medium size - 620g)
Clam or Pipi: 10-12 (adjustable according to personal preference)
Ginger: 8g
Gogi Berries: 8g
Spring Onion: 20g
Olive Oil: 5ml (1 tsp)
Kombu/Chichken Stock (alternative pure coconut water or water): 100ml
Cooking Wine or White Grape Wine: 15ml (1tbsp)
Tips for Selecting Ingredients
Luffa: If you are in Australia, you can find luffa in vegetable and fruit shops or at an Asian supermarket. You can also find them in the traditional market if you live in Asian countries. There are three main types of luffas, and they all work. Make sure you won’t choose the luffa that is too old, because its fibres are very thick and taste very rough.
Clam or pipi: I highly recommend you use fresh clams or pipis. If you are in Australia, you can get fresh pips in the fish market. I haven’t seen fresh clams in Sydney since I started living here in 2017. Instead, only frozen cooked clams are sold in Asian supermarkets. This can be the alternative if you cannot find fresh pipis in the fish market. If you live in an Asian country, it is easy to get fresh clams in traditional markets, fish markets, and supermarkets. Fresh clam and pipi are always the top choice because the juice from the clam and pipi provides extra umami flavour to this luffa vegetable recipe.
Goji berry (babury wolfberry fruit): Goji berry is one of the most widely used ingredients in Taiwanese foods, including soup, dishes, and desserts. You will see them a lot in the recipes on Bubble Foodex! They are famous for being rich in antioxidants and supporting our eye health. You can get them at Coles, Woolworths, Asian supermarkets, healthy food stores, and Chinese medicine shops.
Kombu/Chicken Stock: I highly recommend using stock that does not have a strong aroma, so kombu and chicken are a good option. The aroma from clams or pips and luffa is not too strong; if we use the stock with a strong aroma, it will cover the aroma from them. Adding stock can enhance the depth of the overall dish. However, if you do not have stock, coconut water is a good alternative (I tried it before and the dish still tastes amazing). Just make sure you use the pure, real coconut water with any flavour. If you only have fresh water, then it also works. You can add 0.5-1 tsp of sugar to create the umami flavour.
Cooking wines: For choosing cooking wine, Taiwanese people traditionally use cooking rice wine. You can find them in the Asian supermarkets. Alternatively, you can use white grape wine because it works very well in many Taiwanese and Asian cuisines. You do not need expensive white grape wine. A cheap white grape wine in a Bottle shop or any liquor shop will work. That is one of the reasons I switched from cooking rice wine to a cheap white grape wine because they are cheaper.
Quick Steps Snapshot for Simmer Luffa with Clams/Pipis
Prep: Slice ginger, spring onion, and luffa.
Sauté: Stir-fry ginger & spring onion (2–3 mins).
Simmer: Add luffa, stock & wine. Cover, cook 7 mins.
Add: Goji berries & clams/pipis. Simmer till clams/pipis open (about 2-3 mins).
Season: Taste first, then add salt if needed.
Serve: Enjoy solo, with noodles, or rice!
Detailed Step by Step Guidance
1. Prepare ingredients:
Ginger: slice into thin pieces
Spring onion: cut into 3cm strips
Luffa: peel it and slice it into 1cm thick pieces
2. Add oil, ginger and spring onions to the pot. Stir fry them with medium flame until you smell the aroma of the ginger and spring onion. Spring onions will turn brown as well.
This step takes around 2-3 minutes. Remember to stir them from time to time to avoid the spring onion getting burned.
3. Add luffa, stock and cooking wine. Put the lid on and simmer it for 7 minutes or until the luffas become soft.
Luffa contains a lot of water and will release after we simmer it.
We only need a bit of stock or water to prevent the ingredients from burning. We do not add lots of water to avoid diluting the fresh flavour from the luffa water.
Compared with using water, adding stock can form a deep flavour to the soup. I recommend using kombu stock because it does not have strong aroma.
4. Add goji berries and clam or pipis. Simmer them until clam or pipis open. This takes around 3 minutes.
Make sure the you turn off the flame right after the clam or pipis open to avoid their texture get hard.
If you see one or two of the pipi or clam do no open while others are all open, this may mean that one is not fresh. In this case, you can ignore that one and still turn off the flame.
If you use cooked clams, you can add goji berries to cook them first, and add cooked clams afterwards. You just need to cook them for 30 seconds to 1 minute to avoid their texture from getting hard.
5. Add salt according to personal preference.
If you use fresh clams or pips, they will release juice to the soup and make the soup a bit salty. Taste the soup first before you decide whether you need extra salt.
6. Ready to serve! This simmer luffa with clams or pipis can enjoy with in three ways:
Just enjoy it by itself
Enjoy it with glass noodles or very thin noodles
Enjoy it with rice.
Luffa vegetable recipes series 1 - simmer luffa with clams/pipis