Silky luffa scrambled with egg, with plain congee
Sweet, juicy luffa stir-fried with softly scrambled egg alongside a bowl of silky plain congee — light, low in oil, cooling and easy on the stomach.
- 55 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types have oily skin and a bitter taste and are prone to spots, and Bailu's days are still hot, with damp heat lingering. Luffa clears heat, resolves phlegm and cools the blood, egg nourishes yin, and plain congee strengthens the spleen and stomach. Light and low in oil, it won't feed damp heat, and it's gentle first thing in the morning.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 45 min- 1Rinse the rice. Bring the water to the boil, add the rice, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer for 35 minutes until silky.
- 2Peel the hard ridges off the luffa, leaving some of the green, and cut into chunks with angled rolling cuts. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and the cornflour mixed with a little water.
- 3Heat half the oil, pour in the eggs and push gently with a spatula until about 70 per cent set, then lift out.
- 4Heat the remaining oil, fry the ginger and garlic, then stir-fry the luffa for 2 minutes until soft and juicy. Season with salt, fold the eggs back in and serve with the congee.
Cautions
- Luffa is cooling, so don't overdo it if your digestion is weak or you get loose stools; choose firm, fresh luffa and discard any that tastes bitter.
Chef's tips
- Leaving a little green skin on keeps the luffa from turning mushy; lift the eggs out while still soft and fold them back in at the end so they stay silky.
The TCM view
Luffa is sweet and cool, entering the lungs, liver and stomach, clearing heat, resolving phlegm, cooling the blood, detoxifying and freeing the channels. Egg is sweet and neutral, nourishing yin and moistening dryness; rice strengthens the spleen and harmonises the stomach; ginger tempers the luffa's coolness.
