Stir-Fried Chayote with Eggs

There are many dishes that are in my memory about the time I still lived in Vietnam after 1975. The dish I will prepare today is one of them. It is the common people's dish, but it can be served for the upper class of Vietnamese people. This dish can be prepared with beef or shrimp. I remember my mother used to make this dish with pig's fat, and it is a common fat to use in the Vietnamese kitchens in Vietnam. Sometimes when she saved a little more money in her budget, then eggs would be added into this dish, and it was special to us kids.  I think this recipe is a comfort food for me every time I prepare it. It brings back a special time for me and my mother--the time that she and we kids had to live in a small house with the straw roof leaking and the raindrops falling into the sauté pan when she had made this for us. However, all these memories always remind me that I have to appreciate my life now more and more everyday. Even though I can afford to make chayote with beef or shrimp now, but this dish remains as a common and comfort food for me.

Ingredients:
Two chayotes, peeled and shredded
One carrot, peeled and shredded
2 eggs
3 shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, sliced
2 tbs peanut oil
1/2 tomato slice (optinal)
Season with fish sauce or salt, sugar, and black pepper

Garnish with basil and cilantro


Directions:
Break eggs into a bowl and season with some salt and pepper.
In a sauté pan, heat oil. Add shallots and cook until fragrant. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.

 Add chayote and carrots. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If too dry, add 1/4 cup of water.

 Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.

 Move the chayote to the side of the sauté pan. Add a little oil and pour eggs into the pan. Wait briefly until the eggs just settle and then scramble them.

Rejoin the chayote with eggs and mix well. Add tomato and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green onions and turn the heat off. Place onto a serving plate and garnish with basil and cilantro.