Su Su Xao Tom Kho (Chayote Squash with Dried Shrimps)

I made a simple, healthy, and veggielicious dish for dinner last night. Check out my Su Su Xao Tom Kho, looks great huh? I am surprised myself. Of course, I could not do it without my mom’s instructions. So here is a quick recipe for your own pleasure.

Before you do anything, pop in a Vietnamese CD to get into the mood. Traditional music is the obvious choice and Quang Linh, Nhu Quynh, or Truong Vu is preferable. It’s all about the mood, baby!

Slice the skin off the chayote squash. Split it in half. Take out the white part inside. Slice the squash into thin pieces then rinse thoroughly with salt water to get rid off the sticky stuff. I rinsed it three times.

Chop green onion into small pieces. Take the scallions (white part of the onion near the root) and fried them with a bit of oil. Pour in dried shrimp, swirl a bit then pour in the chayote squash. Sprinkle a bit of sugar and salt. No MSG is necessary since the chayote squash already has a natural sweet taste to it. Stir well for five minutes. Voila!

Simple huh? Make sure you choose a firm, unblemished, and light green chayote squash for the sweet and crunchy taste. Dried shrimps can be purchased in any Asian grocery store. The ones I used are made by my mom, so the quality is superior. Her dried shrimps are the elegant replacement of peanuts for drinking. I can listen to music, drink, and pop her dried shrimps in my mouth all day.