Wok Wednesdays | Chinese Jamaican Stir-Fried Chicken with Chayote

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

A most delicious stir-fry! Served with rice, you have yourself a complete meal. 

The recipe calls for two not so ordinary ingredients: Pickapeppa Sauce and Chayote (pronounced Chahy-oh-tee or Chī'ōdē) squash, which also goes by the names of vegetable pear, christophene, chocho and mirlton. Depending on what article you read, it is either a fruit or vegetable. I'm sticking with fruit.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Chicken, dark soy sauce, garlic, cornstarch, salt, oil

Bowl 2: Onions

Bowl 3: Salt

Bowl 4: Chayote

Bowl 5: Water

Bowl 6: Pickapeppa Sauce, ketchup

Bowl 7: Salt

This stir-fry begins by adding the chicken to the wok first, which is allowed to sear and stir-fried briefly before it is removed from the wok (to be added back in later). Oil is added to the wok with a bit of salt and the chayote - this is stir-fried for a short time, and then some water is added, the wok is covered for about five seconds, uncovered, stirred, and covered again until the chayote is crisp-tender. The chicken is added back in along with the sauce mixture and a bit more salt, and stir-fried just until the chicken is cooked through. Yep, that simple.

Chayote

I have purchased chayote at my local grocery in the past, however, this time, I had to make a trip to 99 Ranch, my local Asian market. If you can't find chayote, you could substitute zucchini; though I may skip or shorten the time of the steaming portion of the recipe, for zucchini is pretty tender from the start, whereas chayote is crisp like an apple, as I prefer my vegetables on the firmer side.

I found it easier to peel the chayote after slicing it in half and giving it a quick rinse with water (it can be slippery); I was able to get a better grip on it, and also able to get to more of the skin in the creases at the top.
                           

(source)

The Pickapeppa Sauce (aka Jamaican ketchup), I did not even check my local markets for, and went straight to World Market, knowing I had seen it there before. Other members mentioned they did find it at their Safeway and Ralphs supermarkets - so maybe it is not so uncommon after all.

This sauce tasted to me, a lot like A-1 steak sauce with a dose of vinegar. However, mixed with ketchup and stir-fried along with the other ingredients, it had a totally different flavor - nothing at all like steak sauce.

Andy said this was another A+ meal; and on his second helping he voiced "this is way good.."

It is said that the seed of the chayote is a delicacy in Mexico. So of course I had to give it a try. The seed was very tender, with a "green" flavor, almost grass-like; it was just OK - not something I would have a hankering for in the future.

(Update: to clarify, I ate the seed raw, Grace informed me that it should be cooked.)

I did have an extra chayote that I used for making this raw, light, crisp salad for my lunch. I came across a recipe on Canadian Living, that used a very simple citrus (lime) vinaigrette to toss partially cooked chayote in, along with some cilantro. I chose not to boil the chayote, and just sliced it very thin with a mandoline. Raw chayote is crisp like an apple, with a very mild flavor - similar to a cucumber, sans the sweetness.

Check out the following links for more information on this interesting fruit:

Specialty Produce

Harvest to Table

Chayote Squash Great as Ornament or Treat

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. You will find the recipe on page 133 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find at your local library.  

Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Bagels with Cabbage and Bacon

WW wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Yep, you read that correctly - b a g e l s.  The recipe calls for your standard plain Jewish bagel to be made into a delicious Chinese stir-fry. Crazy as it sounds, it works!

The recipe comes from Lejen Chen, of Mrs. Shanen's in Beijing. The original recipe is normally made with laobing, a type of Chinese flatbread. Lejen, having extra bagels on hand, decided to try it with bagels instead, and I thank her, for I'm sure the laobing would be hard to come by for me, if not downright impossible.

Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili pepper

Bowl 2: Bacon

Bowl 3: Garlic

Bowl 4: Cabbage

Bowl 5: Soy sauce, rice vinegar

Bowl 6: Bagels

Bowl 7: Salt

The contents of bowl one are first stir-fried in a little oil to bring out their flavor, then the bacon is added and cooked just until it begins to crisp up a bit, then the garlic is added (the fat from the bacon is not thrown out! This is what helps flavor the dish), then the cabbage (which I would have liked more of), which is cooked just until it starts to wilt, at which time the soy sauce mixture and bagels go in, the wok is covered for a short time to soften the bagels (mine were extremely fresh - pillow soft, and I could have probably skipped this part), then a little salt is sprinkled in and tossed to combine. Voila! You now have an interesting and tasty side dish. 

I was thinking this would be good for breakfast too, served alongside or topped with a poached egg. I don't see why you couldn't prep everything the evening before so it's ready to go when you are. If you feel your bagels are too dry, just sprinkle some water over them before covering the wok.

Think of this as a deconstructed BLT sandwich - minus the T; though you could add some halved cherry tomatoes if you like - I wouldn't tell. :)

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. You will find the recipe on page 255 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find at your local library.  The recipe just so happens to be available here as well. :)

Wok Wednesdays | Stir-Fried Lettuce with Garlic Chili

WW wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

Grace mentions that this is a recipe to be served for Chinese New Year, birthdays, and graduations; for lettuce symbolizes prosperity, and translates to "growing money".  Maybe I'll have good fortune, for I also recently made Grace's recipe Minced Pork in Lettuce Cups - which by the way is so, so good.

 Mise en place.

Bowl 1: Garlic, serrano pepper

Bowl 2: Romaine

Bowl 3: Salt, white pepper

Bowl 4: Dry sherry, chicken broth, soy sauce

The tomatoes were my addition, for I felt it needed a splash of color. This dish also looks pretty just sprinkled with some sesame seeds, as other members of the group had done.

With just a few simple ingredients, you have a quick and tasty side dish. 

 Here are the Minced Pork in Lettuce Cups - you really need to make these...

We have been asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 195 (p.99 for the lettuce cups), of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed.