Sayote (chayote) guisado plus

A reader once lamented on the lack of variety in Filipino cooking. Mostly, she observed, there were only basic cooking techniques: sauteeing, soup and de-sarsa (with sauce). As far as I am concerned, those are not insufficient. The trick is combining them with other techniques to come up with more variety in cooked dishes. Take the basic guisado (sauteed), for instance. While traditionally it means cooking garlic, onions and tomatoes in a little oil before adding the meat or seafood and diced vegetables, one doesn’t have to be limited by the traditional, right? Why not start cooking a dish by sauteeing the old way then finish it by doing something totally unexpected?

The dish in the photo is basically chayote (sayote) guisado. However, towards the end of cooking time, I added lots of chopped basil leaves and sliced mushroom caps, then thickened the sauce a bit with tapioca starch. Off the fire, I drizzled a little sesame seed oil over the pork and vegetables then tossed them a few times before serving. The result was still a traditional guisado but with the texture and aroma of a Chinese stir fry.

Ingredients :

300 g. slab of pork liempo (belly)
2-3 pieces of chayote (about 750 g.)
1 head of garlic
1 large white onion
4 tomatoes
4 tsps. of chopped basil (2 tsps. if using dried)
6 black chinese (or shiitake) mushrooms
3 tbsps. of cooking oil
1 tsp. of tapioca or corn starch
patis
pepper
sesame seed oil

Cooking procedure :

Cut the pork into 1×1″ cubes.

Peel, crush and mince the garlic.

Peel and thinly slice the onion.

Dice the tomatoes.

Peel the chayote with a small knife or a vegetable peeler. Cut into quarters vertically and cut off the hard core. Cut into 1×1″ cubes.

Cut off the stalks of the mushrooms and slice the caps into thin strips. If using dried mushrooms, soak in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes to rehydrate before cutting.

Heat a skillet. Pour in the cooking oil. When it starts to smoke, saute the minced garlic and sliced onion for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and continue sauteeing until they start turning soft. Add the pork cubes and cook over high heat, tossing frequently, until lightly browned. Alternatively, cook the pork, uncut, in salted water for about an hour. Drain, chill (note: chilling the cooked meat before cutting prevents it from crumbling), then cut into cubes. Saute as above.

Pour in enough water to cover. Season with patis and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. The mixture would be almost dry at this point. Add the cubed chayote and pour in about a cup of water. Adjust the seasonings. Add the chopped basil and sliced mushroom caps. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the chayote cubes are cooked through.

Disperse the starch in about 1/4 c. of water and pour into the sauteed pork and chayote. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and clears. Turn off the heat, drizzle some sesame seed oil on the cooked dish and toss a few times.

Serve hot.

Note: If you had pre-cooked the pork, use the pork broth instead of water. When the mixture boils, you can immediately add the chayote cubes.