Uwajiwhat: Loofah Squash

Imagine a delicious food that, if not picked in time, could later show up as part of your WELCOME mat, shoulder pads, dish scrubber, or marine steam engine filter.

Meet the loofah squash. Scientifically speaking, the one we usually eat is called luffa acutangula (whereas the related luffa cylindrica has fibrous networks better suited to making the aforementioned products), but it’s known by many names, including Chinese okra, silk squash, vegetable sponge, sponge gourd, and dishrag gourd. Or, in other languages, skoo ah (Hmong), hechima (Japanese), sinqua (Cantonese Chinese), ta tsu kua (Mandarin Chinese), patola (Filipino), muop khia (Vietnamese), and toorai (Indian).

Oh, and buap liam in Thailand, where we discovered it. There, loofah squash is cooked in soups and stir-fries, or boiled and served with nam prik.

Loofah squash is best young (4-6 inches long), when it doesn’t need peeling and is not yet bitter. Unfortunately, what we find in Seattle is closer to a foot long, so it’s important to cut away the angular ridges, and sometimes even peel the green skin if tough. You can slice the flesh in coins, but we like to cut it into bite-sized chunks and quickly stir-fry with some chopped shrimp, garlic, fish sauce, and ground white pepper. Don’t overcook, or you’ll lose the sweetness. And don’t overwhelm its delicate flavor. Cooked correctly, you’ll find this ingredient simply spongeworthy.