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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Braised Bittergourd With Salted Black Beans



Not everyone will love bittergourd or bittermelon. Slightly bitterish yet it has a stunning aftertaste . You either love it or hate it. Thank God , my Piggies love it which surprises me indeed :)


I braised it with chicken and salted black beans .This dish is common among the chinese families in Asia. The aroma redolent of the salted black beans filled the kitchen while it was braising in the wok. A mouthwatering dish that will leave you to want more helpings :) The bittergourd absorbed in the flavorful gravy tastes so good that you will start to miss it an hour later after dinner :)))

A very easy and simple to prepare dish that can be served with hot rice.



The photos above are for my Piggies to drool
whenever they miss this dish
Piggy boy will be back to college this Sunday
to start his 3rd semester and I know for sure
he will miss homecooked food ^ *



Braised Bittergourd With Salted Black Beans


Ingredients:


1 large bittergourd - cut into 1.5 inch strips
½ chicken – cut into pieces
(marinated with 1 tbsp light soy sauce
and 2 tsp of cornflour)

(A)
1 tsp salted black beans – washed
1 tbsp fermented soybean
4 pips of garlic- chopped finely
3 bird’s eye chili – seeded

1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of dark soy sauce

2 tbsp of cooking oil

Thickening:
1 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp water

Method:

Heat oil in the wok, add in (A) and sautéed till fragrant. Add in the chicken and stir fry 5 minutes, add in the cut bittergourd and continued to stir fry till well mixed. Lower the flame , cover the wok and braised the bittergourd till the bittergourd and chicken pieces are properly cooked. Add in the dark soy sauce and sugar. Do not add water for the bittergourd and chicken will give out liquid. Add the thickening last. Dish out and serve with hot rice.

Enjoy!


6 comments:

  1. Sounds good, I used to hate bitter melon growing up, but now it reminds me of visiting my grand parents in Japan. Specifically my grandfather who loved it sauteed with pork, baby sardines and miso.

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  2. Hi Marc,

    Thanks for dropping by :) I have not tried sauteed it with pork, baby sardines and miso..good idea !. Thanks for sharing your grandpa's fav recipe.

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  3. Hello,

    The salted black beans is also known as Tau Cheo?

    Thick black sauce as in dark soy sauce or tim cheong for frying kway teow?

    Thx

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  4. Sorry I missed a word so I don't blame you confused. Thick black soy sauce is the one they used for fried koay teow and the salted black beans are not tau cheo but it is called 'tau see ' in cantonese. Hope it helps. :)

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  5. HI Elin

    may i know if i can omit the fermented soybean? i only have salted black bean:(
    thks
    octopusmum

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  6. omg my mum makes this a lot! I love this! I wish i can get bittergourd as easily in london. thanks for sharing this and tempting me with that lovely photo (:

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