Braised Chicken with Bitter Gourd

I am sorry for not able to do a posting last weekend, as we were having network problem at home and that forced me to take a skip on my blog.

Today, I wish to share a classic Chinese recipe, a popular dish for Chinese in South East Asia  - Braised Chicken with Bitter Gourd.  I know some of you will not fancy with bitter gourd due to the bitter taste, well, I am one of them too!  As age catching up, I started to appreciate it and you won't believe it, that bitter gourd has became one of my favorite vegetables.

Normally, this dish cooked using the Chinese fermented beans, either is the black or the yellow.  My late mum used to used the yellow type but since I was married, I was introduced to the black fermented beans for this dish by my hubby.  After trying on both types separately, I decided to try to use both types in this recipe.  I able to get the balance of taste from both type of the beans, which I think all of you will love it too!  Perfect to go with plain rice.

Ingredients

6 chicken drumsticks, cut into bite sizes (you may use any parts of the chicken)

1 large bitter gourd, cut into 1 inch long strip

5 to 6 slices ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbsp black fermented beans, soaked with warm water for at least an hour

2 tbsp yellow fermented beans

2 1/2 cooking oil

To marinate the chicken:

1 tsp ground pepper

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine

1 tbsp corn starch

The gravy:

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground pepper

1 cup water

(mix all ingredients)

Instructions

1.   Marinate chicken in advance for an hour and let it chill in the fridge.

2.   Rub bitter gourd strips with salt.

3.   Bring a pot of water to boil, blanch bitter gourd for 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse them under running water for 1 to 2 minutes.  Dry and set aside.

4.   Heat-up half portion of the oil in a wok or skillet, cook chicken meat until half cooked.  Dish out and set a side.

5.   Heat-up the other half of oil in a wok on middle-high heat, saute minced garlic and ginger until aromatic.

6.   Add in yellow and black fermented beans, mix well.  Add in bitter gourd and chicken meat, stir until well combined.

7.   Add in the mixtures of gravy and let it cook on high heat, cover with lid.  Once boiled, lower heat to low and let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or to your desired texture.  Serve immediately.