Mango Chow-Chow Recipe

This is an accompaniment for pork or chicken. We first discovered this at Zula, our favorite Houston restaurant. Chef Neal Cox served us fois gras on peach chow-chow (to die for!). Neal has become a good friend, and he shared his recipe for the peach chow-chow. However, we decided to give his recipe a Caribbean touch, and this is the result.  You can use this as a topping for pork ternderloin, sauteed or grilled breast of chicken, or even grilled fish.

 

Our favorite presentation is to heat the chow-chow to serving temperature and make a bed of it on a plate, about 1/2 inch (12mm) thick. Top the bed with sliced pork tenderloin or grilled breast of chicken. Top the meat with a teaspoonful of freshly diced mango and a cilantro leaf.

 

This chow-chow is delicious fresh, but is even better after it has rested for a day.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup of chopped onion)

1 large firm mango, or two small ones, finely chopped (make 11/2 cups of chopped mango)

1/4 cup malt vinegar

1/2 cup peach schnapps

1 teaspoon seasoning blend, like Emeril's "essence", or other blend of spices

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

1/2 to 1 tablespoon Caribbean hot sauce (we use Matouk's, but use whatever you like)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method:

1. Put water in saucepan, add salt, and bring to a boil.

2. Add chopped onion, reduce heat, and let boil for 5 minutes.

3. Pour off water, straining onions from water. Discard water.

4. Rinse onions in strainer under cold water.

5. Return onions to saucepan, add remaining ingredients, and heat over high heat until mixture boils.

6. Reduce heat to medium and reduce until liquid has reduced and chow-chow has consistency of relish.