Week 9 - Silk Squash

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This is the first week that I bought something at the Asian market and I don't know what it is. The label at the Asian market said "Water Squash." When I Googled it, I couldn't find anything about it. After Googling around some more, I located sites that listed this as silk squash or Chinese okra. There's another squash that I saw in the market that is apparently the same plant called angled lufa. The angled lufa is long and has much more pronounced ridges. I'm not quite sure I understand what the difference is. I decided to treat whatever this thing is like a zucchini. This website has a lot of info on Asian squashes.

I sliced the squash up and I could smell a strong Earthy scent. I tried one of the raw slices and it tasted very Earthy, actually kind of like dirt. I sauteed the slices with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Fresh herbs would probably taste good as well, but I didn't have any.

The verdict: The Earthy flavor was still there after cooking, but it mellowed somewhat. The overall flavor was similar to zucchini. The skin was a bit tough, but not too bad. I might consider peeling it next time before cooking. If you want to try a new summer squash, I would recommend this one.