SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

Christine Paris is eating food grown and produced within a 200 km radius for 30 days of April in the Happyzine Eat Local Challenge.

My last day on the challenge.  I bought bananas and yoghurt today so I could eat those with homemade muesli tomorrow morning!

One last recipe I wanted to share is a wonderfully simple recipe with a little known vegetable called a choko or chayote in Mexico where it originated.  It is a member of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. The chayote fruit is used in mostly cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavor.  I planted a choko in my garden this past spring and it is fruiting prolifically.

Here is a great Choko recipe from Vietnam.

Stir-fried choko with beef and garlic (trai su xao thit bo)

Ingredients

1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp fish sauce
200 g lean beef, finely sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp finely diced garlic
2 chokos, peeled, sliced into batons
1 tbsp water
4 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
3 coriander sprigs, for garnish
1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional), for garnish

Chilli soy dipping sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 red chilli, sliced

Instructions

Marinating time: 10 minutes

In a mixing bowl, combine ½ tablespoon sugar, pepper and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. Mix well then add beef and marinate for 10 minutes.

To make the chilli soy dipping sauce, combine the soy and chilli.

In a hot fry pan, add vegetable oil and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the beef and stir fry for 1 minute then remove the beef and set aside.

Add the choko to the same hot pan then add remaining fish sauce, sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir then cover with lid and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid, add spring onions, cooked beef and toss well for a further minute.

Transfer to a plate, garnish with coriander and sliced chilli (if using). Serve with jasmine rice and chilli soy dipping sauce.

Tags: eat local challenge