Ridged Gourd or Luffa Soup with chicken meatballs (Sup Oyong/Gambas plus bola-bola daging ayam)

Yesterday afternoon my husband and I went to Philippine Store in our city. I run out shallots and fried shallots, so I have to buy them. When I walked into vegetables section, I found this fruit. In Indonesia we called with Oyong or Gambas and commonly known as ridged gourd.

This fruit is grown and eaten  as a vegetable and very common in Asia and Africa.

More detail and picture about this fruit, you can read from this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa

My grandmother and my mom cooked this for me while I was young. I want ask my mom about the spices but I remember if right now is midnight in Indonesia. Maybe next time, I'll cook with original recipe from my family after I ask her.

I found this recipe from Herty Kitchen. I reducing and adding ingredients from the original recipe. I substitute shrimps with chicken and also I added sliced tofu.

How about the taste? This soup has sweet taste, little bit kick taste from black pepper and tasty for sure.

Here, I will share the recipe with you and maybe give you some ideas.

Please don't hesitate to drop me any comments or questions regarding this recipe, I need it to improve my cooking in the future. Thank you :-)

Source : Herti Kitchen modified by me

What you need :

- 2 pieces medium size Ridged Gourd, peel of the jacket then slice

- 1 cup sliced medium firm Tofu

- 1 stalk green onion, sliced

- 3 cloves garlic, thinly slice

- 1 spoonful oyster sauce

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + 1 tablespoon sesame oil, for saute

- 2 cup water

- 1 piece chicken thigh, chopped the meat part, and set aside the bone for the broth

- 2 teaspoon tapioca flour

- 1/2 cup shredded carrot

- salt

- sugar

- ground white and black pepper

- fried shallots for garnish.

Make it :

1. Combine chopped chicken, tapioca flour, shredded carrots 1/3 tsp salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly in a bowl. Shape in to 1/2-inches balls. Repeat until the dough is finish. Set aside.

2. In a wok, saute garlic with oil and sesame oil for 3 minutes. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a pan, bring water into boil. Add chicken bone. Let shimmer for 5 minutes.

4. In a hot boiled soup, add sauteed garlic, then add one by one the chicken balls. Let shimmer for about 5 minutes. 

5. Add oyster sauce, tofu, sugar, salt and pepper. Don't forget to taste. Let shimmer for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken bone from the soup.

6. Add cut ridged gourd and sliced green onion in the soup. Let shimmer then turn of the heat. 

7. Place into prepared dish, serve warm with steamed rice and garnish with fried shallots. Enjoy.

Indonesia version :

1. Campurkan daging ayam cincang, parutan wortel, tepung kanji, 1/3 sdt garam dan gula. Aduk rata. Bentuk bulatan sesuai selera. Ualng hingga adonan habis. Sisihkan.

2. Tumis bawang putih dengan menggunakan minyak+ minyak wijen  hingga harum. Sisihkan.

3. Sementara itu, didalam panci, rebus air hingga mendidih, masukkan tulang ayam dan rebus selama 5 menit.

4. Didalam kuah yg mendidih, masukkan tumisan bawang putih, masukkan satu persatu bola daging. Biarkan hingga kuah mendidih selama 5 menit.

5. Masukkan saus tiram, garam, gula, potongan tahu dan merica bubuk. Jangan lupa cicipi. Buang tulang ayam dari sup.

6. Masukkan irisan bawang daun dan oyong/gambas. Rebus sebentar hingga mendidih. Matikan api.

7. Sajikan didalam mangkuk, bersama nasi putih dan beri bawang daun diatas sup. Sajikan.

Preparation : 5 minutes

Cooking : 25 minutes

Servings : 2 servings