This recipe comes from the Philippines, my homeland. My mother used to make this dish for us when we were growing up.
Chayote is a gourd plant, similar to the summer squash. Chayote is also popular in Indian and Latin American cuisines. Chayote is very low in calories (25 calories per cup) and chock-full of vitamins and other nutrients. Chayote is also called vegetable pear, alligator pear or mango squash.
In this recipe, I used shallots instead of regular onions. In my opinion, shallots have a milder flavour when compared to onions and they work very well in sauces or creamy dishes. Also, shallots are more nutritious than most varieties of onions. On the other hand, they are more expensive than white or red onions. For the lowest price, shop for shallots in Asian markets.
The Chayotes in this recipe should be peeled, cored and sliced thinly. When shopping for Chayotes, look for fruits firm to the touch and free of bruises.
The traditional Chayote recipes use fresh tomatoes. I like to also add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to add color, flavour and additional nutrients. Also, tomato paste has ten times more lycopene content than raw tomatoes.
For a vegetarian version of this recipe, you can skip the ground pork and fish sauce. The ground pork can be replaced with any other ground meat or with shrimps.
If you decide to try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out via the blog comments section.
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 shallots or large size onions, diced
- 2 tbsp. olive or coconut oil
- ½ cup water
- 1 lb ground pork
- 5 medium size Chayotes, peeled, cored and sliced thin
- 2 small tomatoes, diced or 6 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- salt and ground pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste (optional)
- In a large skillet, sauté garlic and onions in hot oil until the garlic is light brown.
- Add the ground pork until it's thoroughly cooked.
- Add the sliced Chayote, tomato paste and the water, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the Chayote is slightly tender.
- Add the fish sauce, salt, ground pepper and diced tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
hi lani thanks for sharing this recipe.. i will definitely try this at home for my family…
Thanks for leaving a comment, Gradiola. Please let me know how it goes? Have a great Sunday!
Hi, Lani! Thank you for sharing this, a variation in cooking ground beef, this time with chayote. Will try this out ASAP. I love your healthy recipes.
You’re welcome, Sarah!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a wonderful message, it’s really appreciated.
Regards,
Lani
Hi couz! I’m really proud of you. You’re so masipag. I tried some of your recipe back home you know, but you see some condiments are really ‘new & strange’ to me. Ha ha ha .. that i used to ask myself hala ano ba to… saan ko ba to makikita?
You see, I’m not into cooking but i love to eat.
Anyway , just now saw this Sayote with ground pork when i look at my sons fridge hala wala sayote pero meron patatas. My inay used to cook too back then .
Hi Ate Nini,
Thank you for your kind message and for lifting me up. Our “Anda” must be happy with her “Taba” and the rest of her grandkids
About the chayote recipe, potato is a great replacement – parang giniling ang labas or Spanish Picadillo.
Enjoy cooking and let me know if you need my assistance in terms of the “new & strange” condiments. Take care!
Cheers!
Lani
Thanks for the recipe! It caught my attention so quick when I was searching for ground pork recipes and did not want to make meatballs.
I added some dried mint and it was amazing!
Thank you! Excited to try other recipes you have on here.
Hi Kirra,
Thank you so much for you kind words, your wonderful feedback means a lot to me. I do hope that you’ll also like my other recipes.:) Just let me know if you have some questions? You can also find my daily food posted on my instagram account @ Lani Cooks
Regards,
Lani
P.S. I will also use dried mint the next time I make this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I was looking for a Chayote recipe that wasn’t a side dish and found this one. Being of Filipino decent, I figured I’d also give it a try and it looked simple enough to cook. I too added fresh mint which enhanced the flavor which was a nice surprise! Thanks for Sharing!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Pat. It’s my mother’s special recipe when we’re growing up. You can also check my grandma’s beef liver recipe and chicken Adobo, if you’re looking for Filipino main dishes.
Our daily food are posted on my instagram account @ Lani Cookshttps://www.instagram.com/lani_cooks/
Cheers! 😊