Chayote (Chokos) with dried shrimps

I dunno about you but I've taken a great liking for chayote (chokos) and on Sunday, I found that I had no prawns in the freezer so I decided to fry it with dried shrimps instead.

I was very pleased with the outcome and in fact, I liked it more than the version I cooked with prawns. You're bound to love it too - if you're fond of dried shrimps :P

Anyway, I was lazy and took the shortcut - didn't parboil the chayote slices this time round and just fried them ... it was still ok. :P

Chayote (Chokos) with dried shrimps

Ingredients:

• 1 big chayote (chokos) - remove skin and seed and slice very thinly)
• 1 handful of very small dried shrimps
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• fish sauce to taste

Method:

1. Rinse the dried shrimps a couple of times. Soak them in about half a bowl of water for about 1/2hr. (Chop the dried shrimps into smaller bits if you're using the bigger dried shrimps)
2. Remove the dried shrimps from the water and leave to dry - you don't want oil to splatter everywhere when you're frying them later. Reserve the water for cooking.
3. Heat some oil in the wok. Fry the garlic and dried shrimps till fragrant.
4. Add in the chayote and stir-fry for about a minute.
5. Add in the water that the dried shrimps were soaked in and bring it to a boil. (Add more water if nec)
6. Simmer on low heat for about 5-7min (depending on how crisp you like the veg).
7. Add fish sauce to taste - you don't need a lot of this as the dried shrimp is already a bit salty.
8. Dish and serve.

For toddler's consumption (above 18mths):


Cut the chayote slices into smaller pieces to facilitate chewing.