Chinese Chayote Soup

This Chinese Chayote Soup is made with chayotes, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, pork meat, and spices. It takes about 2 hours to make but most of the time is just waiting for the pork to become tender.

Can't get enough of chayote recipes? You'll love my Chayote Kimchi recipe.

🥡 About This Recipe

My parents were avid gardeners growing up and we used to have a giant trellis full of homegrown chayotes. One of my favorite recipes was this chayote soup made by my mom. There was plenty of chayote chunks and she used pork meat so it tasted very filling. Today, I am sharing her recipe.

I am using homemade chicken stock for this soup. It tastes so much better than store-bought stock and it is very easy to make. I have a recipe here.

❓ How to prepare chayotes

The way I prepare them is to first remove the skin. Technically, the skin is edible, but I do not like the taste of skin in my soup. Next, I halve the chayotes, and then I cut each half into 3 or 4 smaller pieces. After that, I use a small spoon to scoop out the core. You can remove the core earlier but I find it easier after the chayote has been sliced into smaller pieces. Finally, just chop the chayote into bite-sized pieces.

🧂 Ingredients

• Pork shoulder: Pork meat is very popular in Chinese soups. I am using pork shoulder, but any cheap, low-quality cut will work. Pork neck bones or ribs work great.
• Vegetables: Chayotes, carrots, dried shiitake mushrooms, and ginger. For the dried shiitake mushrooms, I soaked them in water for 15 minutes to soften them, then I cut off the stems because they are very woody. I also saved the soaking water for the soup.
• Chicken Stock: As I said earlier, homemade chicken stock is the best. If you do not have chicken stock, I recommend just using water and then adding chicken bouillon powder to taste at the end.
• Seasoning: Salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and vinegar to brighten everything up. I am using white vinegar, but you can use any type of acid you want.

🔪 Instructions

STEP 1: Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of boiling water for 15 minutes to soften them. Use a knife to remove the tough stems and discard them. Reserve the mushroom caps and soaking water.

STEP 2: In a large pot, combine the chicken stock, water, mushroom caps, mushroom water, pork, ginger, salt, and Sichuan peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 1 hour, and come back every so often to skim off the scum at the top.

STEP 3: Add the chayotes and carrots to the pot and return the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for another 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

STEP 4: At this point, you can stir in the vinegar, then eat the soup. But I like to skim off some of the extra fat and remove the Sichuan peppercorns first. Taste a spoonful of the soup and add extra salt or vinegar as needed.

I like serving this with fresh cilantro and freshly cracked black pepper. The soup will keep well for about 5 days in the fridge.

📋 Recipe

Chinese Chayote Soup

This Chinese Chayote Soup is made with chayotes, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, pork meat, and spices. It takes about 2 hours to make but most of the time is just waiting for the pork to become tender.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 8 people

Calories 174 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• ▢ 8 cups chicken stock
• ▢ 4 cups water
• ▢ 600 g pork shoulder or loin (cut into 2-inch chunks)
• ▢ 4 slices ginger
• ▢ 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
• ▢ 3-4 chayotes (seeds removed and chopped into ½-inch chunks)
• ▢ 2 medium carrots (chopped into ½-inch chunks)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon white vinegar

For serving

• ▢ cilantro (chopped)
• ▢ ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of boiling water for 15 minutes to soften them. Use a knife to remove the tough stems and discard them. Reserve the mushroom caps and soaking water.
• In a large pot, combine the chicken stock, water, mushroom caps, mushroom water, pork, ginger, salt, and Sichuan peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 1 hour, and come back every so often to skim off the scum at the top.
• Add the chayotes and carrots to the pot and return the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for another 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
• At this point, you can stir in the vinegar, then eat the soup. But I like to skim off some of the extra fat and remove the Sichuan peppercorns first. Taste a spoonful of the soup and add extra salt or vinegar as needed. Serve with chopped cilantro and freshly cracked black pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 16gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 977mgPotassium: 542mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2559IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Did you make this?Let me know how it was!

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