Stir-fried Chayotes for Dinner

Stir-fried chayotes with red peppers for dinner

We were recently gifted some chayotes from a doctor whose patient had grown them. These palm-shaped vegetables were dark green and had lots of prickles on the outside; usually the outer skin is a bit tough and has to be peeled, but not with prickles that could be painful to handle!

Chayotes originated from South America, between southern Mexico and Honduras. This vegetable belongs to the gourd family, which includes cucumbers and squash.

Ours were dark green like these ones and prickly

A chef from Venezuela who has a Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong serving South American cuisine was thrilled to find chayotes in the wet markets, as home-cooked soups and stews typically include this green gourd.

It can also be chopped thinly and eaten raw in salads, and stir-fried or steamed too. I have pickled them before, adapting a recipe for smashed cucumbers.

In Cantonese cooking it's usually added to soups or stir-fried, and I had a left over red pepper so I decided to cook them together for a vegetable dish for dinner.

To prepare these prickly chayotes, I donned a pair of dishwashing gloves and used a cloth to pick them up and peel them with a peeler which wasn't too difficult to do. Any areas I could not reach I used a knife to carve out the tough skin.

Then I sliced the chayotes in half and then quarters before chopping them into diagonal slices, including the seed in the middle which is edible.

Chayotes can be eaten in many ways

Once the oil in the wok was hot, I added shallots, garlic and ginger, then the sliced chayote and red pepper. After a quick stir, I added a bit of water and some chicken stock I had in the fridge before turning down the heat and put the lid on the wok so that the vegetables could steam and cook.

After around 10 minutes when the chayote was tender, I added a bit of salt to taste and then the vegetables were done.

The chayotes hold their shape and taste sweet, the red pepper even sweeter! They also made for a colourful dish too.

Canada's Historic Ride at Copa America

Canada has come so far in first appearance in Copa America!

Canada put up a good fight this evening, but it wasn't enough to beat world number one Argentina -- and Lionel Messi -- at the Copa America semifinal losing 2-0.

But when you think about it, Canada was the complete outlier, the underdog, the long shot in 48th place. And we made it into the semifinals!

Canada did quite well in the match, only allowing two goals, and here are some other stats from the game:

Pretty impressive stats against Argentina

In the post-game interviews, the players are gutted. One explained they had let Messi have the ball too much, and when you do, "he punishes you". Canada will learn from this match, regroup and refocus for Saturday's match for third place. 

The team is coached by American Jesse Marsch, and the players have only been playing together for the last five, six weeks. Captain Alphonso Davies has been exceptional, as well as goalie Max Crepeau, who was grace under pressure in the shoot out to beat Venezuela to get into the semifinal.

Canadians have jumped on the football bandwagon and hopefully the momentum will carry into the next two years when Canada, the United States and Mexico host the 2026 World Cup!