Ton-Ton's Journey: Vancouver 2007 will continue on Tuesday, October 29, 2007.)
What the heck is this thing!?! Anyone know? The girl at my favorite Taiwanese produce stall called it a "pear gourd". It's amazing what you can find at your local farmers market.
I had no idea how to cook this thing, but the shape gave me an idea. The helpful produce girl told me to treat it like winter melon. A recent recipe by Teczcape for savory egg custard inspired me to hollow out the round part of the gourd, fill it with egg custard, and steam it. Since I started reading my good friend Rasa Malaysia's blog over a year ago, I've been playing with Malaysian seasonings. I decided to add belacan to my egg custard for an extra pungent kick. The resulting dish was gentle and soothing, with a deliciously mysterious flavor that went very well with rice.
Recipe for Steamed Pear Gourd with Savory Egg Custard
Gear:
1 chef's knife, Santouku knife, or Chinese cleaver
1 cutting board
1 mixing bowl
1 wok with bamboo steamer or stock pot with steamer insert
1 large spoon
Ingredients:
1 medium pear gourd
1 tbsp of dried Chinese shrimp
1 green onion top
2 large eggs (preferably organic, free-range)
3 tsp of belcan fermented shrimp paste
1/4 cup of Chinese rice wine
Prep work:
Slice the pear gourd exactly in half lengthwise. With a metal spoon, carefully hollow out the bulb of both halves. Try to maintain an even thickness on all sides to insure uniform cooking.
Dice the bits of the gourd you hollowed out and set aside.
Thinly slice the green onion top and set aside.
Roughly chop the dried shrimp and add to the rice wine to hydrate.
Dissolve the belacan in the rice wine.
Instructions:
Steam the pear gourd halves over high heat for 5 minutes to help soften. If you like your gourd firm, skip this step.
Beat the two eggs. Add rice wine, dried shrimp, belacan, diced gourd, and half of the green onion slices, and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour off any water in your gourd bowls. Use egg shell halves to stabilize and prop up your gourd bowls. You want them to stay level for steaming and serving.
Carefully ladle the egg mixture into your gourd bowls.
You don't want the liquid portion to come up much beyond the lip of your bowl. Go ahead and pile the solids on a little higher. They'll cook down.
Steam over medium heat until the egg custard has just set. Should take around 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 5 more minutes off of the heat before serving.
Garnish with the remaining green onions.
Serves 2-4.
Good eating!
11 comments:
Great find and beautiful presentation. I'll have to have my farmer's market shopper keep an eye out for those. Does the gourd/squash come out firm or soft? Is it stringy? I'm curious.
I have never seen a pear gourd before this. It's truly amazing. How is the texture after steaming? Does it resemble the texture of a pear or is it more like the hairy gourd?
I'm curious... never seen it before
Beautiful and very creative. Where did you get your supply of belacan / shrimp paste? If you want some real ones from Malaysia, let me know. :)
Jonah and Suanne,
Depending on how you cook it, it's firm to soft. Definitely not stringy. It has a delicate, light texture and a mild flavor similar to dong gua (Chinese winter/north melon).
Andaliman,
It was fun working with a new vegetable.
Rasa Malaysia,
I get my shrimp paste from 99 Ranch Market, so it probably doesn't have a patch on the stuff you get from Malaysia. I'm not sure which brand it is, but it comes in a small, cardboard box with a shrimp on it.
If you want to smuggle some belacan and cinculak back for me, I'd totally reimburse you. =)
- Chubbypanda
Not gonna lie...I totally thought that was some weird avocado hybrid. :P I've never seen one of those before. But, wow, nice presentation, panda!
Genius! This is absolutely creative. :)
i can imagine the combination of flavors from the belacan, gourd, egg...
that looks amazing!
That looks soooo good! And the pear gourd is cute! Nice job!
Thank you, this is so beautiful,
And, since we love winter-melon I would like to try this...if, of course, I can find it in Paris.
I'm going to go on a search and I'll keep you posted -please wish me luck!
Yuzu,
Aww... Thanks! I'll never be on par with your bentos, though. They're just too cute.
Tigerfish,
What can I say? Your custard post inspired me.
V,
You're sweet.
Chef Ben,
Thanks, buddy! I can take no credit for the pear gourd. I'm just reaping the benefits of some very hard-working Taiwanese farmers. =)
Emily,
Good luck. I've never seen this vegetable before anywhere. Let me know if you manage to find it in Paris.
- Chubbypanda
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