Filipino Recipes | Sauteed Chayote

This dish is one of my favorite Filipino dishes that my Papa made us as a kid. He would change it up adding in ground pork/beef, chunks of pork and shrimp. Every single time he made it, it was delicious and my plate was always finished. I decided to make it for my family. Haidyn loves just about anything Filipino, while Waymon is a little harder to convince. I can’t blame him since our food is completely different, but I’m so glad he tried this dish. He liked it, but I’m pretty sure that once is enough for him. Haha! This dish was easy to whip up and to change up using the ingredients I have on hand. With my sayote dish I used, shrimp and ground turkey.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 chayote (sayote)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• ½ lb lean ground pork ( I used ground turkey and  11/2 cups of shrimp)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce or 1 tsp salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare chayote by peeling off skin. This process is slimy and may cause irrigation so be cautious.
   
2. Cut the peeled chayote in half and remove the seed.
3.  Cut the halves in quarters and then slice each piece crosswise into thin slices/cubes.  Set aside.
4. In a skillet, heat oil, add garlic and tomato.
5. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until tomato has softened.
6. Add pork (turkey in my case) until cooked.
7. Add fish sauce (or salt), chayote and shrimp, mix thoroughly.
8. Add water, cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until chayote is crisp tender.
   
9. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. You may put this on a low simmer for 20 minutes if needed.
10. Serve with steamed rice.