Pipengaille, Chicken Chinese Style
- Stéphanie
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
If there is one vegetable that tastes like a Mauritian garden, it is the pipengaille. Known elsewhere as luffa, it is humble, generous, and quietly delicious, the kind of 'légume lontan' my mother used to cooked without fuss and that deserves its place back on our tables. Paired with tender strips of chicken and a glossy, savoury sauce, this is everyday cooking at its best: simple, fast, and full of soul.
Servings
This recipe is for 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 platter of boneless chicken côtelettes (côtelettes de poulet sans os)
4 to 5 pipengailles (luffa), peeled and sliced
0.5 teaspoons ginger paste
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red onion, sliced
Oyster sauce (divided)
Light soy sauce (divided)
Rub Texan Steakhouse Seasoning
Sesame oil (divided)
Rice flour (or cornflour)
Sunflower oil
80 milliliters water
Instructions:
Prepare the pipengailles: Peel the 4 to 5 pipengailles (luffa) and cut them into regular rounds. The thinner they are, the faster they cook while the thicker, the longer they will need. Set aside.
Cut the chicken: Cut the 1 platter of boneless chicken côtelettes (côtelettes de poulet sans os) into smaller strips for a more homogeneous cooking.
Marinate the chicken: Start the marinade of the chicken with 1 round of Rub Texan Steakhouse Seasoning, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, the 0.5 teaspoons ginger paste, 1 tsp of 2 teaspoons sesame oil and 1 tbsp light soy sauce (divided). Mix well so every strip gets its share.
Cook the chicken: Heat your pan, preferably a non-stick wok, add the 1 tablespoons sunflower oil and wait until the temperature is at its maximum. Incorporate the marinated chicken, the 1 red onion, sliced and the 4 garlic cloves, crushed, stir quickly, then leave to cook while stirring from time to time, for about 10 to 15 minutes 15:00 depending on your flame.
Prepare the sauce: Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: mix the 2 tablespoons rice flour (or cornflour), the 80 milliliters water, 1 tsp of 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tbsp light soy sauce. Mix and set aside to be used later.
Add the pipengailles: When the chicken is nearly cooked and turning golden, incorporate the sliced pipengailles. Give everything a good mix and keep stirring from time to time.
Add the sauce and thicken: When the pipengailles start to look slightly translucent, add the sauce prepared earlier and keep stirring until it thickens, lowering the heat to its lowest setting.
Rest and serve: Leave it for 3 more minutes, then turn off the heat and cover for an additional 5 minutes 05:00 before serving, this is where the pipengaille becomes melting and the sauce settles into a beautiful gloss.
Watch me make it!
Serve and Enjoy!
Serve hot over fluffy steamed 2 cups of basmati rice, steamed, for serving, letting the glossy sauce coat every grain. Gather everyone around the table and enjoy. This is home cooking at its most comforting. Bon appétit! Simple food. Daily joy.
Bon appétit!
Notes
The pipengaille (luffa) is a légume lontan from our Mauritian gardens, humble, affordable and wonderfully absorbent of flavour.
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