Name: Opo squash or opo gourd, called upo in the Philippines (Lagenaria siceraria) — a long, smooth, pale green, cylindrical type of bottle gourd, with white, mild, spongy flesh. It is the same species as the bottle gourd, harvested young and long.
Description
Opo is a variety of bottle gourd, a plant domesticated thousands of years ago in Africa and spread across the world. It is a staple in Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian cooking, where the long young fruits are cooked in soups, stir-fries and stews, and the young shoots are eaten too. In Vietnamese cooking it is called bầu, and in Chinese hu gua.
The flesh is soft and bland, and absorbs the flavour of broth and seasonings, with a texture like a zucchini. Young gourds can be peeled, or left unpeeled if very tender, and must be tasted for bitterness before cooking.
Main nutrition value
Opo gourd is very low in calories, with a high water content, and provides small amounts of vitamin C, potassium and fibre.
How best to be consumed
Opo is cooked, and best young and tender.
- Peel, halve, scoop out seeds if mature, and slice into half-moons for soups, such as Filipino tinola and misua.
- Stir-fry with shrimp, pork or egg, or braise with glass noodles.
- Add to lentil dishes and curries.
- Taste a small raw piece, and discard the whole gourd if it is bitter.
- Choose young, smooth, glossy gourds.
Overconsumption could cause…
Opo is safe only when it tastes mild.
- Toxic squash syndrome from cucurbitacins, natural compounds that make a squash or gourd intensely bitter, and which can cause severe stomach upset, hair loss and even death in rare cases, so always taste a little raw and discard the whole fruit if it is very bitter. Bitter bottle gourd types have caused serious poisoning, particularly from juice.
- Digestive upset, such as loose stools, from large amounts.
- Little nutritional value if it replaces more nutritious foods.
- Allergic reactions in rare cases.
Wikipedia — Calabash, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash
Comments
No comments yet.
Log in to leave a comment.