Hello Hivers! I hope everybody is in a good mood today.
It’s a bright sunny day so I cooked up a vegan treat to begin the week on a delicious and positive note. I saw that I still have bottle gourd (upo here in the Philippines) that I bought from the mother/son vendor selling it house-to-house the other day, so I decided to cook up a simple dish with it to share with the family, and also my HIVE family.
I'm glad I didn't put in any egg in the dish and dairy on my #coffee so that I can participate in the FRUITS AND VEGGIES MONDAY CONTEST by @lenasveganliving. I hope you enjoy the post as much as I have preparing (and eating) the finished product. Here goes...
INGREDIENTS
Upo (Bottle gourd/Calabash)
Tofu
Black Beans
Vegetable Oil
Bay Leaf
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Water
Flour
Soy sauce (maggi savor calamansi flavor)
PROCEDURE
1.Wash and cut the calabash and tofu to your desired size.
2.Fry the tofu cubes for around eight to ten minutes in low to medium fire.
3.Add in the black beans, and bay leaf, and cook for five minutes.
4.Put in the calabash and stir it in gently so that the tofu will not break up. Cover it for five minutes and turn down the heat a little. Stir from time to time.
5.Make a sauce by mixing in two tablespoons of flour with half-a-cup of cold water. Mix thoroughly. Put in a pinch of salt, pepper, sugar and a dash of soy sauce (I used Maggi Savor Calamansi flavor).
6.Pour in the sauce mixture into the wok and stir it in for two to three minutes then cover. Check the viscosity and add water if it is too thick. Cover and let cook for 2 minutes.
7.After three minutes, check the taste and adjust accordingly.
8.Put it in a bowl and serve at once.
Here are the main ingredients:
I 'overcooked' the tofu to get the crispy crunch that I love. Make sure all the sides are cooked.
I only put in half of the black beans because I did not want to overpower the dish with the black beans' taste.
The bottle gourd was super watery so I did not add water anymore.
Covering the wok will help release the moisture and cook evenly.
Add in the sauce mixture when all the ingredients are cooked already.
The sauce was good! I really enjoyed my #fruitsandveggiesmonday brunch.
Enjoying my brunch with black coffee and getting some love from my heart-shaped potato and three okras. haha
We are still in a crisis because of the Coronavirus pandemic, but it should not stop us from enjoying the simple things in life like having a cup of coffee in the morning or eating healthy and delicious food.
Thank you for dropping by and reading my post. I wish you good health and protection in these trying times. Good day everyone! :)