Chayote shoots (Brede chouchou) are the vibrant green leaves small to medium in size. They have a sandpaper-like texture and are most suitable for boiling, stir-frying, baking, steaming, and sautéing in a range of Asian/Oriental dishes. They can also be sautéed or stir-fried as a vegetable side dish or combined with other ingredients and made into dumplings.

Chayote shoots / Brede chouchou fricassee recipe:

Ingredients

• – 2 bunches of chouchou brèdes
• – 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, degermed and crushed
• – 10g peeled and crushed ginger
• – salt
• – pepper (optional)
• – sunflower oil

Steps

1. First of all start by “sorting” the brèdes, a typically Creole term which means: remove the threads and keep only the tender stems and cores, then wash them in clear water.

2. Brown the garlic and ginger in a tablespoon of sunflower oil.

3. Then throw the drained brèdes into your pot and mix everything well, cook over high heat for a few minutes.

4. Add salt and pepper.

5. Stir regularly so that the leaves do not burn, then lower the heat, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes.

6. The sticks must be cooked, but keeping a little light crunch, for amateurs, you can crush fresh chilli and mix it with the brèdes.