Bittergourd Chicken

In Cantonese this dish is called 'foo kua men kai', and is one of my family favourite recipes. I learned how to eat this dish during my schooling days when I had to spend my mornings at my neighbour's house where she would prepare lunch for my sister and I and her own children before we went to school. I really own it to her for teaching me how to savour this fantastic dish. Hopefully, my daughter will one day learn to enjoy it as much as we do.

I used chicken parts cos I only cooked this for dinner the other day with no accompanying dishes. Chicken parts can be substituted with sliced chicken fillets.

2 chicken drumsticks and 2 chicken wings (cut into small chunks)

Cut one medium size bittergourd into sticks as shown above after scraping out all the seeds in the core. Blanche them in boiling water for 2 minutes and drained (this is done to take away some of its bitterness).

Chop some garlic, 2 Tbsp tauchu paste (fermented soya beans), plop them into hot oil in a wok and saute for 1 minute and add chicken. Stir till chicken is slightly brown on the outside and add a drizzle of dark soya sauce and light soya sauce. Stir some more and add a little hot water before pouring in the pre-cooked bittergourd. Simmer for 15 minutes with lid on. Add salt to taste.