  We study the properties of strange quark matter in equilibrium with normal
nuclear matter. Instead of using the conventional bag model in quark sector, we
achieve the confinement by a density-dependent quark mass derived from
in-medium chiral condensates. In nuclear matter, we adopt the equation of state
from the Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone approach with three-body forces. It is found
that the mixed phase can occur, for a reasonable confinement parameter, near
the normal nuclear saturation density, and goes over into pure quark matter at
about 5 times the saturation. The onset of mixed and quark phases is compatible
with the observed class of low-mass neutron stars, but it hinders the
occurrence of kaon condensation.
