One of the dishes sold at the mixed rice/ economy rice shop is stir fried hairy gourd/ fuzzy melon with dried shrimp and mung bean vermicelli. And I had only recently found out that this is what the gourd looks like in its uncooked form.
It is an immature form of winter melon (wax gourd). When it matures, it loses its hair/ fuzz around it. The skin is removed when being cooked. There are no seeds in the center of hairy gourd where else the seeds of the winter melon needs to be removed.
It can also be stir fried with deep fried tofu strips or minced meat, stuffed with meat just like the steamed bittergourd stuffed with minced pork , stew it with meat or boil it in soups.
I stir fried mine with some carrots and dried shrimp.
Stir Fried Hairy Gourd/ Fuzzy Melon with Dried Shrimp Recipe
Ingredients
1 hairy Gourd/ Fuzzy Melon
½ carrot
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried shrimp
Salt to taste
Water
Method
1. Cut hairy gourd and carrot into matchsticks and chop garlic.
2. Heat oil and brown garlic and dried shrimp.
3. Stir in hairy gourd and carrot.
4. Add a few tbsp of water and cover the lid to steam it for a few minutes. After that, stir it and check softness. If it is still not soft, cover the lid to continue steaming. Add water if necessary.
5. Add salt to taste.