Ginisang Sayote (Sautéed Chayote) - Foxy Folksy Pinoy Recipes (2024)

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Ginisang Sayote is an easy, economical, delicious, and nutritious dish using chayote, with tomatoes and ground pork.

Ginisa or sauté is basically frying food quickly in a relatively small amount of oil or fat. It is one of the most common cooking methods and one of the quickest ones. You can try some of my quick and easy sautéed recipes such asGinisang Ampalaya,Ginisang Labong, and, of course, Ginisang Sayote.

Ginisang Sayote, or Sautéed Chayote, is an everyday Filipino vegetable dish. Normally served alongside fried fish or other meat, and steamed rice for lunchtime or dinner for a more holistic meal. It is filling and with plenty of health benefits plus super easy to make and inexpensive.

What is Sayote?

Sayote or Chayote, also called choko, is a light green pear-shaped squash with thin skin that may be prickly, hairy, or smooth. It is commonly used as a vegetable but is technically a fruit and can be eaten raw. Other names for it are mirliton or pear squash. Most parts of the plant is edible from the leaves to the flowers and the young stalks. It is high in fiber and dense with nutrients and vitamins.

Some of the health benefits you can get from eating sayote are:

• helps reduce fat buildup in the liver
• has anti-inflammatory properties
• helps lower cholesterol and high blood pressure
• high in Vitamin C and folate

This is one of the staple vegetables in a Filipino kitchen as it is very versatile. It can be used in soups, stews, salads, or stir-fries. It is a handy substitute for ingredients like green papaya, zucchini, or gourds like upo (bottle gourd) and kundol (winter melon).

How to prepare Sayote?

Did you ever experience having that sticky film/slime cling to your hands when peeling sayote that is sometimes difficult to remove? This is caused by the sap that comes out when the squash is cut.

These steps will help remove or reduce the of the sayote while preparing it.

1. Before peeling the sayote, cut off about half an inch from the top.
2. Allow the sap/resin to come out of the sayote.
3. To hasten it, rub the cut parts together in a circular motion until a white, foam-like substance appears and build-up. Rinse well.
4. Rub a small amount of oil in your hands just in case there is some sap left.
5. Peel off the skin using a vegetable peeler or a small knife.
6. Slice according to the recipe.

Other dishes that use Sayote

Ingredients

• Chayote - choose one that has no brown soft spot and is not yet too mature. You can try to sink your nail into the flesh, it should sink in easily through the skin. If it is too tough/hard then it is too mature.
• Aromatics - I used garlic, white onion, and tomatoes. They will be the flavor base of this dish.
• Ground pork - I used regular ground pork for this recipe which is a 70:30 lean-fat ratio. If you want this dish to be healthier, you may use lean ground pork with a 90:10 lean-fat ratio.
• Fish sauce - adds a savory and salty umami flavor to the dish.
• Salt - add according to your taste.
• Water just enough for steaming the chayote.
• Oil - use vegetable oil or other neutral flavored oil.

Cooking Tips

Aside from ground pork, this dish also works well with almost any protein. You may use chicken, beef, shrimp, or even egg.

To make this dish vegetarian, you can omit the ground pork and replace fish sauce with salt or vegetarian oyster sauce.

You can also add some julienned carrots to extend the serving of the dish and also to add flavor, texture, and a pop of color!

Once cooked, the chayote will turn a bit translucent and turn pale green. In Ginisang Sayote, it's best if the sayote is a bit tender but remains crisp.

Make sure to remove Ginisang Sayote from the pan and serve immediately so the residual heat from the pan will not overcook it.

How to Serve and Store

Ginisang Sayote paired with steamed white rice makes a satisfying lunch or dinner. You can enjoy it on its own as the main dish or as a side with fried fish or meat.

Store leftover Ginisang Sayote in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

You may reheat Ginisang Sayote in a saucepan on a stovetop or warm it up in the microwave.

Freezing this dish is not recommended as it will lose its flavor and texture and be mushy once thawed.

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