Nobody loves me…

I know it by its local name – ketola…and I did not know whether it had an English name until I checked in this website. Judging from its shape and plant, I just guessed that it is some kind of gourd…and indeed, it is called ribbed or ridged gourd, among all the other names including loofah and Chinese okra…

It is easily available at the market here…and some of the sellers even get rid of the hard green skin for you so that you will not need to go through the hassle…

…before cutting the veg into chunks like these…

This is a simple dish, probably Foochow, and the basic ingredients used in cooking ketola are ginger, egg…and salt and msg according to taste. I had a bit of prawns left in the freezer and two tomatoes in the fridge, so I decided to add those, as well as a chilli cut into thin, long strips…

I fried the strips of ginger in a bit of oil before adding the prawns and chilli. Next, I broke the egg into the wok and stirred it…and then I put in the ketola. I added quite a bit of water as I love the taste – like chicken soup and I usually mix it with my rice when eating. Once the ketola is cooked, I added the tomatoes and salt and msg according to taste, and stirred a bit more before serving…

I reckon it is quite delicious all right and yet, we do not get to see it being served in restaurants…and most of the time, not even at those economical fast food stalls. I wonder why nobody seems to love it at all…