I made bittergourd chicken with preserved bean sauce for dinner tonight. It’s sloppy, bitter, and I’m not describing someone – it’s my dinner and it’s good. Not everyone likes bittergourd but I absolutely love them. I like them anyway they are prepared.
This bittergourd chicken recipe is a family recipe. My maternal grandmother use to cook it all the time when she comes over to stay. And when she does, all i need is rice and I’m good to go. Choosing the correct type of bittergourd is essential, of course. The wrinklier they are, the more bitter they taste. So young gourds are thought to be very bitter while older gourds are less potent and less wrinkly. So choose a less potent one for this recipe because we don’t want to overpower the chicken.
Here’s the recipe:
1 medium sized old bittergourd, cut into chunks
1 chicken breast, cut into chunks or you might want to use chicken drumsticks with bone in is fine too
2-3 tablespoonsful of preserved bean sauce (or what we chinese would call “tau cheong”), chopped roughly if they’re whole beans
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 slices of ginger
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
150ml water
1 tablespoon oil
Method:
1. Heat pot with oil and saute your garlic and ginger until fragrant (roughly 1-2 minutes).
2. Add your bean sauce in and saute further for another minute.
3. Add your chicken and cook until the chicken pieces turn slightly opaque on all side. Lower heat to medium.
4. Add your dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and stir to cook until well incorporated. Add water.
5. Increase heat and add your bittergourd in. Let it come to a simmer and then lower heat again. 6. Simmer for about 20-25 more minutes and then serve on white rice.
It’s simple, a little sloppy but so satisfying 
I like bittergourds! I want to make this soon
Old bittergourds, here I come…
hahaha..so you like your bittergourd VERY bitter, it seems
Let me know how it goes!
Truth to be told…I don’t eat bittergourds. I do not like bitter and when I eat Yong Tow Foo stuffed with bittergourds, I would always dig it out and eat only the fish part.
LOL..i am glad you’re truthful then! Next time just pass the bittergourd to me after you’re done scooping out the fish paste then, thank you hehehe
Today, I’ll teach you what your grandma never taught you. Probably a secret kung-fu she kept till today….
To reduce the bitterness, semi pre-cook the bittegourd in boiling water, rinse, then only add them into the main pot.
I thot you said young gourds are more bitter? I’m looking for old ones!
bloomingtree: That secret’s been out long time ago … lol
Thanks for sharing anyway. I didn’t pre-cooked the bittergourd cos the saltiness of bean sauce was good enough. And I want it bitter… what’s the point of eating bittergourd if it’s not bitter??
tigerfish: Young gourd is indeed more bitter, but old gourd is less bitter. You can try pre-boiling the young gourd it’ll probably lower the bitterness to the level of an old gourd un-pre-boiled.
I am sure all of you have tasted deep fried baby bittergourd, done the indian way. I like that too.
I also come across a taiwanese dish, bittergourd stirfry with salted egg white. it is also very yummy.
big boys oven: I love the indian deepfried style too. Use to have it with banana leaf rice, it’s just awesome. I haven’t tried the taiwanese version though. I love salted eggs,hmm…I must try it someday