Burmese Squash with Salad Shrimp

Chayote Squash with Shrimp

Chayote squash is practically tasteless and takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with. Shrimp goes really well with this squash, especially when it's cooked in the Burmese way with a hint of shrimp sauce or ngapi.

This dish reminds me of Mum who made this often with fresh shrimp. To speed up the cooking process, I pressure cooked this dish which cooked the squash in ten minutes. The shrimp was added at the tail-end of the cooking process to prevent over-cooking.


Ingredients:
5 chayote squash, peeled and cubed
8 oz. salad or baby shrimp
1 cup water
1 large onion, minced
1 large tomato, minced
1 tsp. garlic paste
1/2 tsp. shrimp sauce or ngapi
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. Kashmiri mirch or paprika
1 green chili, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pressure cooker, add paprika, onions, garlic, chili and tomatoes.
2. Stir-fry until tomatoes break down, add shrimp sauce & simmer until oil resurfaces.
3. Add squash along with water and stir well.
4. Cover pressure cooker, bring to full pressure and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Allow pressure to dissipate completely before opening lid of pressure cooker.
6. Add salad shrimp, adjust salt to taste and cook for 3 more minutes.
7. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed Basmati or any long-grain rice.