Angled gourd.

Angled gourd, buap liam in Thai, is a long dark green gourd with sharp ridges running from end to end. Peel off the ridges, or the whole skin, and the flesh underneath is pale, soft and mildly sweet. It cooks quickly and soaks up whatever it's cooked with, which is why it turns up so often in simple home dishes. Choose firm, heavy gourds. Light, spongy ones have started to dry out inside.

Ways to use it

• Stir fry slices with egg, garlic and a splash of oyster sauce.
• Add chunks to a clear soup with minced pork or glass noodles near the end of cooking.
• Put it in kaeng liang, the peppery vegetable soup, with other gourds and leaves.
• Blanch young slices and eat them with nam prik.

Storing it

Keep the gourd whole and unwashed in the fridge drawer and use it within a few days. The tips soften and wrinkle first as it loses water. Rinse it, then peel and slice it just before cooking, because cut flesh darkens if it sits.

Where it comes from

Grown to certified organic standards. The certificate for each lot is shown when you trace your pack.

Every pack will carry a lot code. Enter it on the Trace your pack page and you will see the farms in that lot, the harvest date and the certificate.