Chicken Tinola with Chayote

I believed this fruit have been least appreciated or I would say not much people know about chayote. They are sold mostly at Asian stores and sometimes American grocery stores,  I have seen them at a local Wal-Mart and Kroger.  They have the shape of pear with a thin layer of green skin that could be used for savory dishes.  I remembered that my mom used to serve this as a soup dish, however, it was not appreciated because I used to think that it is too simple and boring.  I grew up eating squash grown from the backyard daily, so I disliked anything with squashes.  I learned to appreciate chayote as an ingredient to a soup dish called Chicken Tinola, which happens to be my boyfriend's favorite dish.  This is a Filipino soup dish that is really simple to make and easily eaten with jasmine rice.  The ingredients are really simple, but brings so much flavor!  Chayote is mostly eaten in South America and Asia.  It could be eaten raw or cooked in several different ways.

When I tried the dish and Chicken Tinola was my first Filipino dish I have cooked.  It reminded me of my mom's particular dish called "Canh Bi Tom," which means Melon/Squash Soup with Shrimp. She would slice the long green squash thinly and added shrimp or pork ribs.  Fish sauce is a must have for most Asian cuisines, such as Thai, Vietnam, Philippines, China, and Korea.  It is used as replacement for salt.  There are similarities between Vietnamese and Filipino cooking, such as using similar ingredients in a particular dish.  The difference between my mom's dish and this recipe.  She never adds ginger to any soup dish she prepares.  However, I will introduce you how to prepare for Chicken Tinola.

Ingredients needed:

1 whole chayote
1 small onion
1 tsp of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
5-8 pieces of chicken thighs
4 cans of chicken broth
2 tsp of fish sauce
1 half bundle of spinach

Chayote could be replaced with green papaya or water spinach can be used in place of American spinach. I preferred chayote because it  naturally sweetens up the broth without any added sugar.  Lean chicken breasts are doable, however, skin on chicken thighs or wings are preferred because the chicken are more moist and juicy when simmered.  I would use canned chicken broth for a quicker meal or you can use the chicken to make your own broth.  This dish would take about at least roughly 30-40 minutes to prepare.  I would mince 1 teaspoon of ginger and garlic first, then, peel the skin off and cut the chayote into cubes.  Meanwhile with a pan turn on the stove to medium heat and sautee the garlic and ginger, then add the chicken.  Let it cook about roughly 10 minutes or until brown, then add the chayote until tender. Next, add 4 cans of broth and onions; lower the heat to simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.  Last, add the spinach then done!  Serve with rice!