Ginisang Sayote
Ingredients
- 3 large chayotes
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 250 grams ground pork
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup water
- salted butter to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the chayote
- Heat oil in a pan or wok over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic until they’re soft and release that amazing aroma.
- Toss in the sliced tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes until they become tender.
- Introduce the ground pork to the mix. Use a spoon to break it into smaller pieces. Cook until it’s no longer pink. Then, add the fish sauce and let it cook for about another minute.
- Pour in the water, cover, and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Add the sliced chayote to the pan, mixing everything together. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the chayote is tender but still has a delightful crispness.
- Remove the pan from heat and transfer the dish to a serving plate.
Details Behind My Ginisang Sayote Recipe
Ginisang Sayote Recipe – Do you want to try a new vegetable? Then you should try out ginisang sayote. Ginisang Sayote, also known as Sautéed Chayote, Filipino dish featuring the versatile chayote vegetable. In this uncomplicated recipe, chayote is expertly sautéed with aromatic garlic, onion, and tomato, complemented by the savory addition of ground pork. It is typically served alongside steamed white rice and showcases the natural goodness of the member of the gourd family.
On that note, what is sayote you may wonder. Sayote, also called Chayote or choko, is a green pear-shaped squash with thin skin that can be prickly, hairy, or smooth. Though often used as a vegetable, it’s technically a fruit and can be eaten raw. Every part of the plant is edible, from leaves to flowers and young stalks. Packed with nutrients and high in fiber, sayote is a nutritious addition to dishes. In Filipino kitchens, it’s a staple used in soups, stews, salads, and stir-fries, serving as a handy substitute for ingredients like green papaya, zucchini, upo (bottle gourd), or kundol (winter melon).
Additional Notes on My Ginisang Sayote Recipe
When making this dish, you should know there is a certain way to prepare sayote. Ever faced the challenge of dealing with a sticky film when peeling sayote, making it hard to remove? This stickiness is caused by the sap released when cutting the squash. To minimize this issue start by cutting off about half an inch from the top before peeling.
Allow the sap or resin to come out by rubbing the cut parts together in a circular motion until a white, foam-like substance appears, then rinse thoroughly. To avoid any remaining sap, apply a small amount of oil to your hands. Proceed to peel off the skin using a vegetable peeler or a small knife, and then slice the sayote according to your recipe’s requirements.
Once the dish is made, you can store the dish in a container with a secure lid and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. When reheating, use a saucepan on the stovetop or warm it up in the microwave for a quick and convenient meal. However, freezing is not recommended, as it may compromise the dish’s flavor and texture, resulting in a mushy consistency upon thawing.
Other Dishes That Can Have Sayote
As stated, sayote is a staple used in soups, stews, salads, and stir-fries. It is also one of many optional vegetables for certain dishes. One example of this is binakol. Binakol is a Filipino chicken soup where the broth is made with coconut water. This comforting soup typically includes coconut meat along with vegetables such as chayote, green papaya, and chili leaves. Another option is tinola. Tinola is a Filipino dish featuring chicken cooked in a broth flavored with ginger. It commonly includes ingredients like chayote or green papaya and green leaves such as chili leaves or malunggay (moringa).
Other Filipino Vegetable Dishes
If you want to explore other vegetable dishes from Filipino cuisine, there is a list of options to try. One classic option to test out is pinakbet. Pinakbet is a stew that highlights local produce, root crops, beans, and a protein, making use of readily available ingredients in the region. What sets it apart is the use of bagoong monamon, a seasoning made from fermented fish, giving the dish a unique flavor. The cooking process involves vegetables being slowly cooked in the pot over low heat until they become “shrunken.”
Another option is law-uy. Law-uy is a term for sinabawang gulay, the general name for vegetable soup in Filipino cuisine. Popular throughout the country, it has different names in various regions like bulanglang na gulay, sabaw na utan, law-oy, utan bisaya, or utan kamunggay. The dish is a mix of nutritious leafy vegetables like moringa leaves, mustard greens, pepper leaves, and pechay is cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger in a tasty broth made with seafood stock or patis.
If you want to try out a different type of sauteed dish, you can test out Adobong Isaw. Or you can try other vegetable dishes like Gising gising. Otherwise, you can explore all kinds of vegetable dishes in Filipino cuisine.
