Stir fried hairy gourd with dried shrimps and tung hoon (毛 瓜粉絲蝦米)

This is another dish that goes very well with plain congee (white porridge). In fact I don’t need anything else if I have this dish with my porridge.

 The hairy gourd (mo kwa 毛瓜) also known as fuzzy melon has fine and short hair all over. It looks like a short, fat, fuzzy cucumber with a delicate and almost bland taste. It is sometimes called little winter melon and is used in stir-fries and soups or filled with a meat stuffing and steamed. It has numerous essential nutrients, such as magnesium, vitamin C as well as other antioxidant compounds that help to neutralize free radicals. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine it is used to expel heat, detoxify the body, and reduce inflammation. In Ayurveda it is helpful for the management of lung diseases, cough, epilepsy, asthma, internal haemorrhage, urine retention and is also an excellent medicine for tapeworms. 

Ingredients

1 hairy gourd

Garlic

Shallots

Red chilli

Dried shrimps

Tung hoon

Soak the dried shrimps to soften it and reduce the saltiness

Cut the chilli, shallots and garlic into small pieces

Pound the chilli ingredients with the dried shrimps

Do not pound too finely

Peel the hairy gourd and slice diagonally  

Cut the slices into strips

Heat some oil and fry the pounded ingredients until fragrant

Put in the cut hairy gourd and stir until it is thoroughly mixed with the shrimp paste

Season with salt, pepper and a little sugar

Put in about 200 mls water

Rinse the tung hoon and add to the hairy gourd

Add more water if necessary so that the tung hoon does not stick together

Mix thoroughly 

Dish up and serve
This is the actual amount when cooked