A brush with the luffa

AMONG the many melons found in Asian vegetable markets, the angled luffa or ridged gourd invariably stands out. This is literally, as well as figuratively, true.

Angled luffas are narrow, dark green melons, measuring only 21/2-5cm in diameter but up to 60cm in length; attractive and prominent ridges run the length of the melon, tip to base. Called see gwa in Cantonese, they are grown and eaten throughout Southeast Asia and southern India.

More famous, perhaps, than the angled luffa is its cousin, the sponge luffa (or ''loofah'' or soi gwa in Cantonese). This melon also appears in markets in its younger years. It has the same dark green, rather rough textured skin of the angled luffa, butlacks the ridges - with its skin marked by longitudinal lines instead - and looks much more like a fat cucumber.

Generally, the Cantonese stir fry angled luffa with chunks of onion, wood ear mushrooms, ginger, and slices of fresh fish. The sponge luffa is recommended for soup, best boiled for an hour or two with port bones or meat.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia and southern India, both luffas are served in curries as well as in soups. In the Western kitchen, angled luffa can be steamed, boiled or sauteed in the same way as courgettes or summer squash.

Sponge luffas are typically short and stout, 5-71/2cm in diameter, and seldom more than 20cm in length. Only young ones - as found in the markets - are eaten; older ones are left on the vine to ripen. As they mature, the flesh becomes tough and fibrous.This mesh of fibres - dried, skinned, and bleached - is the familiar sponge ''loofah'' sold for cleaning and bathing.

Here, as elsewhere, the angled luffa is far more popular and widely consumed as a vegetable. Sponge luffas reaching markets are primarily thinnings culled from vines which already bear enough fruits for sponges.