I want to show you how to prepare a classic Cantonese home-cooked chayote squash recipe in this article.

My mother used to cook it with dried shrimp and glass noodles, and nearly every Cantonese housewife knew how to cook this dish during that time.  My mum did it with the hairy gourd in that era, but nowadays, hairy gourd (also called fuzzy melon / 毛瓜) has slowly been replaced by chayote squash, the new kid on the block in Cantonese cuisine.  There are many variations, but this basic chayote squash recipe must include chayote, dried shrimp, and glass noodles (mung bean vermicelli).

This comforting dish has not been getting much attention from restaurants; perhaps it is too basic to cook, as everyone can prepare it at home. Unfortunately, it has become less popular after the older generation no longer prepares it. So I wanted to write an article to rekindle the interest and remind those who have forgotten this dish. So let’s get into the details.

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An unusual Cantonese name for this dish

This chayote squash recipe with dried shrimp has an unusual Cantonese name: 大姨妈嫁女！It means the daughter of the eldest aunty is getting married. However, this phrase utterly has no relation to the appearance and taste of this dish. I have asked a few elderly people and searched for the answer extensively on the internet but to no avail. There are a few suggestions, but these are unreliable sources, and some seem like made-up stories. I would appreciate it if you could leave the answer in the comment section at the end of this article if you know the answer.  

An interesting name of Chayote in Chinese

Chayote is called 佛手瓜, which means Buddha’s hand gourd. It is due to the proximity of its shape to a clenched fist.

How to prepare stir-fry chayote with dried shrimp

This easy Chinese chayote stir-fry recipe uses some of the most common ingredients in Cantonese cooking. Here are the steps:

1. Preparation

• Clean the chayote, then use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
• Cut the chayote into quarters, and remove the pith with a metal spoon.
• Slice it to half cm thin slices, then cut into julienne.
• Cut a medium-sized carrot into julienne, about the same size as the chayote.
• Crush a few cloves of garlic and give them a few rough chops.
• Soak the dried shrimps with water for fifteen minutes or longer. After the shrimp is rehydrated, wash it gently and discard the water. Give it a few rough chops, or cut it smaller with scissors.
• Soak the glass noodles in a bowl of water until they soften, which takes about fifteen minutes. Then drain.  Cut the glass noodles with scissors if they are too long.

2. Stir-fry the chayote squash

• Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok. When heated, add the coarsely chopped garlic, and saute over low to medium heat until it turns aromatic and slightly brown.
• Add the dried shrimps, and continue to saute until fragrant.
• Add the carrots, give it a few stirs and add some water to cook it for two minutes until the carrot starts to turn soft.
• Pour the chayote into the wok, plus with more water to simmer it for five minutes. 
• Season the chayote with salt, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and ground white pepper.
• Add the softened glass noodles to the chayote.  Loosen the glass noodles with chopsticks as they tend to clump together. Then continue to simmer for another three minutes until the glass noodles have softened.
• Dish out, and serve.

Tips to make better chayote stir-fry with dried shrimp

1. Preparation

• The surface of the chayote is undulating with deep grooves. Although it is difficult to remove all the skin, you may leave part of the skin on it as it is edible. After removing the skin, the flesh that is exposed is slippery and slimy. You can wear a pair of gloves to handle it if you are concerned that it will irritate your skin.
• The hairy gourd was often used to prepare this dish by my mother in the past. However, chayote is getting more popular these days. One of the main reasons is that its pith is significantly smaller and will not get too soft (mushy) even if you overcook it.
• Some people prefer to cut the chayote into wedges instead of julienne, which depends on your preference.
• The simplest form for this dish does not include carrots. Instead, I add it to the chayote as it helps to improve the presentation and make it more colorful. My mom used to cook it with only hairy gourd, no chayote, no carrot. On the contrary, other cooks prefer to add ingredients like shitake mushrooms and meat. There is no fixed rule, but the inclusion of hairy gourd (or chayote), dried shrimp, and glass noodles is a must to be authentic.
• I only use garlic as the aromatic. However, you may want to include a few slices of ginger if you like its flavor.

2. Stir-fry

• Some cooks reserve the water to soak the dried shrimp as stock to cook the chayote. However, it is pretty murky and dirty, with some shrimp shell fragments, so I discarded it.
• I keep the seasoning simple with only salt, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and ground white pepper. You can omit oyster sauce if you do not like it. I have seen a chayote squash recipe that include fish sauce, a welcome addition and suitable for these vegetables.  
• I use relatively less water for cooking the chayote, which means there is only a little water left when the chayote has softened.  Therefore, there is no need to use any cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.

Other traditional Cantonese recipes you might want to try

This steam minced pork with salted egg recipe is a lifesaver when you do not feel like spending too much time cooking, order take-out, nor dine in the restaurant. This is another classic Cantonese food that my mother regularly cooked when I was young.

Lotus root stir fry is undoubtedly a dish that you should try. The flavor and texture of the lotus root are so unique that hardly any other vegetables can come close to it. It is slightly sweet, earthy, and has a crunchy texture when stir-fry.