Bottle Gourd / Opo Squash (Hu Zi / Hu Gua)
お箸で切れる柔らかさ！スープを優しくする「長いヒョウタン」
Description
A gourd family vegetable related to calabash, but bred for eating without bitterness. Called 'Yugao' in JP, dried into 'Kanpyo' for sushi. In China, used fresh and peeled. Fibers are softer than winter melon; heating makes it melt instantly, spreading gentle sweetness.
Classification: Everyone, Ingredient, Vegetable, Bottle Gourd, Opo Squash, For Soup, Melting, Summer Vegetable, Kanpyo Raw Material
Shops selling Bottle Gourd / Opo Squash (Hu Zi / Hu Gua)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Lagenaria siceraria var. hispida(Bottle Gourd)
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Hu Zi Chao Rou]: Briefly fry roughly cut Hu Zi with pork. Its moisture mixes with the sauce for a melting texture.
- [Hu Zi Tang]: Soup with eggs or dried shrimp (very gentle flavor).
- Dumpling filling.
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
Finer grain than winter melon、with a delicate sweetness that 'vanishes' in the mouth
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Substitute with JP 'Yugao' (fresh), peeled Eggplant, or Winter Melon
Pairing
Pork / Eggs / Dried Shrimp (Hai Mi)
Trivia
In old rural China, the meat was eaten, and the hard dried skin was used as a 'water ladle' (Shui Piao). A historic veg where life and food were closely intertwined.
Eating tips & etiquette
Because it's highly digestible, prized in China as a 'body-friendly veg' for illness or listless summers. Inside is pure white; soft seeds can be eaten.
Allergen
None