A few weeks ago Don happened to mention that he particularly dislikes eating chokoes. Hundreds of Australians rushed to put pen to paper in defence of the humble choko, just as they had for the parsnip. On this week’s program Don tested some choko recipes sent in by viewers. Rosemary Stanton and Geoff Jansz also had some tips on making chokoes palatable.
The choko (Sechium edule) is a vigorous, perennial vine which is easy to grow in mild, frost-free climates. It can be propagated from a single sprouting fruit in late winter and spring. Plants will bear fruit in autumn and winter, when other fresh vegies are scarce. If you don’t have room for a vine, chokoes can be bought cheaply at the fruit market. Chokoes contain fibre, vitamin C, they’re low in fat and they can even taste good!
Stir-fried chokoes
Rosemary Stanton says that the secret to tasty chokoes is to choose small, dark green ones (which have the most flavour) and don’t ever boil them. Instead, she suggests that you peel them, remove the seed, slice them and then stir-fry them, as follows:
Stir-fry in olive oil with garlic and chopped parsley, then add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the last minute. Serve with meat, fish or chicken. Stir-fry in sesame oil with garlic, ginger, chilli, chicken and any other vegetables you like. Add a dash of lime juice and some salt-reduced soy sauce.
This recipe was sent in by Mrs Elizabeth Neil, from Tamworth. Geoff Jansz prepared Elizabeth’s choko relish for our segment.
Ingredients
Method
Thanks to Roy, Kay and Rowena Petrie for their family soup recipes, prepared for us by Rowena.
Kay’s curried choko soup
Rowena’s tip: peel chokoes under running water to stop the slime sticking to your hands.
Roy’s Greek choko soup