Mau Gua with minced meat

The weather is getting cooler and I'm feeling some Asian comfort food is needed. I recently went out for a family Chinese dinner at a restaurant, being on AIP, the only thing I could eat was the winter melon soup. Even that was questionable whether they added MSG in it. But I enjoyed it and didn't suffer after the meal. A winter melon soup takes a lot of preparation because the soup is basically steamed in the whole melon with meats and seafood. I decided on an easier to accomplish home version that will give me similar taste and texture. I took another favoured and smaller Chinese squash called "Mau Gua" which translates to hairy squash, poached it and topped it with sautéed ground meats. The combination of cleanly (no oil) cooked veggies paired with well seasoned meats make a satisfying and easy to digest AIP meals.

Mau Gua with minced meat

Serves 4                      Prep time 30 mins                  Cook time 20 mins

Ingredients 

• 1 small to medium size Mau Gua, scrap off the tiny hairs with a serrated knife and cut into 1 - 11/2" sections 
• 1"-2" ginger
• 1lb ground meats of your choice ( I used meatloaf mix - veal, pork and beef )
• sea salt to taste ( I use himalayan pink sea salt ) 
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp EVOO or bacon fat
• 1/4 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 stalk of green onions 

Instructions

1. Season ground meat with sea salt and coconut aminos and let marinade for 30 mins
2. Clean and cut Mau Gua into sections
3. Cook in med heat with 1-2 c water and 1" of smashed ginger in a pan until soft, 5-10 mins. The squash will turn to a lighter green when it is cooked. 
4. In another pan, add oil and sautéed onions until translucent
5. Add seasoned ground meats and cook until liquid isn't pink anymore. 
6. Toss in chopped green onions, stir but leave uncovered, turn heat off. 
7. Carefully plate cooked Mau Gua into a serving dish
8. Spoon meat on top of each section and garnish with thinly slice ginger. 
9. Pour the squash broth in the bottom of the dish and serve. 

You may want to season the squash broth with pink salts but I find the meats added enough flavour to the broth. 

use a serrated knife to scrap the outer layer on hair and skin off the squash 

Cut into sections