A Bite of China - Dish Three: Shrimp, fish maw, and loofha stew! Part I

Hello everyone,

How's your week? This is a super busy week for me, but a very rewarding one! I like to keep busy during the week, which makes my weekend even more rewarding for me, because now I can enjoy this delicious, exotic, and healthy dish with you. 

This week, I would like to introduce you to shrimp, fish maw, and loofha stew. Many of you may ask, what on Earth is loofha? Is fish maw edible? Are you sure you can eat this? All right, folks, take a deep breath. Let me tell you more about this dish. You are all familiar with shrimp, so I am going to skip introducing shrimp. My focus is loofha and fish maw.

Shrimp, Fish Maw, and Loofha Stew

  

Figure 1

Loofha:

Loofha, also spelled lufha, is a member of cucumber family. The fruit harvested at a young stage of development can be eaten as a vegetable, whereas fruit harvested at a later stage of development is made into scrubbing sponges due to the xylem fibers within the fruit.

Younger and green loofha is used for cooking 

Figure 2

Ripened or older loofha is made into sponges 

Figure 3

Loofha is best eaten when it is still young and green, because as loofha becomes ripe, the fiber in loofha gets tougher. when it is fully ripened, it becomes too woodsy and fibrous to consume. Loofha is used in stew and stir-fry in Asian countries. The texture and taste of loofha is similar to okra. In Canada, people call loofha, the Chinese okra. As it is similar to okra, you can also bread loofha, deep fry it, and serve it with dipping sauce.

Loofha is extremely advantageous for its health benefits. It is low in calories, abundant in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, riboflavin, zinc, thiamine, iron, and magnesium.

Here are some health benefits of Loofha: 

• Blood cleaner

Due to the high fiber content of loofha, it can help lower you LDL cholesterol level in your blood. Loofha helps regulate blood sugar by slowing down sugar absorption at the small intestine. Also, Loofha contains a certain peptide, which structures like insulin, alkaloids, and charantin chemicals which help in reducing blood sugar.

• Satiety helper

Fiber slows down stomach emptiness after eating. Therefore, loofha keeps you feel full longer and feel satisfied longer.  

• Liver detoxing

Loofha acts to boosts the liver health. The practice of using loofha to treat jaundice has been around for a long time.

• Colon cleaner

The cellulose fibers present in loofha are helpful in the treatment of constipation and also effective in the treatment of piles. Loofha also has a healthy laxative propriety. If you cut one loofha open and touch the inside of it, you can feel a slimy substance, which has a laxative effect.

• Immune system booster

Due to the high vitamin and mineral content in loofha, it is a great immune system booster. It has been used in preventing colds, treating fevers, and managing pain caused by autoimmune diseases. 

• Skin care

Ripened loofha is made into scrubbing sponges. Using a loofha sponge to scrub your skin can eliminate the dead cells left behind on the skin in order to smooth and brighten your skin. The mechanical effect of scrubbing accelerates your blood flow, which helps boost metabolism in your body.    

• Milk production

Having loofha stew to increase milk production is a common practice in Chinese culture. High nutritional value of loofha helps ensure that nursing moms are getting enough nutrition for themselves in order to produce milk. Studies have shown that consuming loofha is associated with better milk flow during nursing.

Loofha is an amazing vegetable! For each 100g of loofha, which is about 3.5 oz, contains about 16 kcal, 1 g of protein and 3 g of carbohydrate. I encourage you to try this nutritious vegetable out! You can stir fry it with other vegetables, stir fry it with eggs and meats, you can add it to your beef stew or other stews, and you can also try deep fried loofha! 

I think I have given you a lot of information to digest. We will continue our learning on this dish next week, in which I will introduce fish maw to you! Looking forward to it!

References: 

Health benefits of Ridge Gourd. Health Benefit Times Web Site. http://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-ridge-gourd/. Published July 28, 2013. Accessed November 9, 2014.

Luffa. Web MD Web Site. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-194-luffa.aspx?activeingredientid=194&activeingredientname=luffa. Accessed November 9, 2014. 

Medicinal Uses of Luffa-Ridge Gourd. Spice Flair Web Site. http://www.spiceflair.com/medicinal-usesf-luffa-or-ridge-gourd/. Published June 22, 2012. Accessed November 9, 2014. 

Figure 2:

Loofha with kiffar lime leaves. Rechael cooks thai.com Web Site. http://www.rachelcooksthai.com/loofah-with-kaffir-lime-leaves/. Published September 15. Accessed November 9, 2014.  

Figure 3:
Loofhas. Boston.com Web Site. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/missconduct/2009/05/loofahs.html. Accessed November 9, 2014.