Chayote

While in Koreatown with Andrew and Lauren, I bought a chayote, also known as a vegetable pear, pear squash and other names. 

It belongs to the gourd family 

and is used both raw and cooked. 

It has a thin green skin and white flesh which is bland with a texture "described as a cross between a potato and a cucumber." 

When cooked, it is generally cooked lightly so that it remains crisp. It is native to Mesoamerica and was introduced to Europe by early explorers. It is mainly grown in Costa Rica, which ships primarily to Europe, and Veracruz, Mexico, which ships primarily to the United States. I found a recipe for it which called for cutting it into 1/2 inch strips, 

cooking it in one tablespoon of oil, mixed with a clove of garlic, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of white sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and after stir frying it for 2 to 3 minutes, adding a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and cooking it an additional 2 to 3 minutes. I decided to add a whole onion and then doubled the salt, sugar, red pepper flakes and vinegar. I also fried it two or three times longer than suggested because it was still very firm. 

The chayote is very bland. If I were to do it again, it would slice it much thinner and make much smaller pieces and perhaps add more spice. I would prefer it more cooked and pliable. The onions cooked in the mixture were quite nice. The chayote itself did nothing for me. It is so bland that it really does not add much. It may be nice in small pieces to add some crunch to a dish, but I would not make it the focus of  a dish again.