Tuesday 29 October 2013

Braised Chicken with Bitter Gourd 苦瓜焖鸡 and Boon's Little Kitchen Cook Book

This is a very classic dish which most of us are very familiar with especially the Asian Chinese. Those children who do not favor bitter gourd will start to love this humble gourd once they are being introduced to this dish.  My children are no exceptional too.  When they were still at a tender age,  this is one of the many bitter gourd dishes which I introduced to them. Gradually, they had learned to like bitter gourd and in fact love this braised chicken with bitter gourd and fermented black beans.
I am glad to say that my preparation for this dish has improved since I came across this recipe from Boon's Little Kitchen, page 86. Boon's Little Kitchen is an ideal cookbook for those who are always scratching their head what to serve a "3 dishes 1 soup" meal for their beloved family. Well, with this cook book, you would not run out of ideas for simple yet wonderful and delicious home-cooked '3 dishes 1 soup" meal for your beloved family.  With just RM18, you will get 12 sets of  "3 dishes 1 soup" meals that comes with awesome and mouthwatering food pictures!!!  You may also like to visit his blog at http://boonslittlekitchen.blogspot.com.

Recipe source : Boon's Little Kitchen (with some minor modifications in red)
Ingredients :
- 1 bitter gourd (discard seeds and cut)
- 1/2 chicken (cut into bite sized)
- 1 tbsp fermented black beans/tau see (rinsed and roughly chopped)
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 200ml water
Marinate :
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp tapioca flour
Seasonings : (to taste)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp of caramel sauce 
- a dash of sugar

Method :
1)  Marinate chicken for 30 minutes.

2)  Heat some oil in a medium sized pot.  Saute garlic and tau see until fragrant.
3)  Add in marinated chicken pieces.

4)  Fry until the meat become whitish. Add in bitter gourd.

5)  Add in seasonings.  Stir fry and mix well.

6)  Add water and cover.  Let it  cook for five minutes or until chicken pieces are cooked over low heat.
7) Finally, add a dash of sugar.  Stir and mix well.
8)  Dish out and serve with steamed rice.
Do add extra water if you like to mix your rice with the sauce
Isn't this a good way of introducing bitter gourd to your children?
Have a wonderful week ahead :)


This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

I'm also linking this post with :Cook-Your-Books #4 hosted by Kitchen Flavours



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32 comments:

  1. My mother would love this dish. Can't wait to make it for her!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Yc, I am sure your mum will love this dish and do cook more rice! Have a nice day ahead :)

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  2. Hi Ivy,
    We use to boil soup with butter gourd. The adults like it but the kids don't.
    I believe this way of cooking indeed will let the kids love it! I need more sauce please :)
    mui

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mui Mui, I do boil different bitter gourd soups too and we love it especially during the hot weather. It's very refreshing. Try this braised chicken with bitter gourd for your kids and who knows they might like it too :) Have a great weekend ahead, Mui :)

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  3. Hi Ivy,
    This dish looks delicious! My hubby and son loves this dish but not my daughter! She does not like bitter gourd.
    I have seen this book at MPH's website but have not go through it yet. Waiting for my next visit to Popular, hopefully can find it here.
    Sometimes our mind comes to a blank, when it comes to meal preparation! Haha! Times such as those, our faithful cookbooks to the rescue!
    Thank you for sharing with CYB!

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  4. Hi Joyce, yes, you can get this book from Popular I have in fact recommended it to quite a number of my friends and they like it as the dishes are homey and simple too. It's my pleasure, Joyce and do have a wonderful week ahead :)

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  5. Hi Ivy, I have been thinking of cooking bittergourd but didn't get to do it. This should be good with porridge.

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  6. I don't normally eat bitter gourd but your dish sure looks good!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mich, too bad you don't take bitter gourd. This is indeed very yummy :)

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  7. I love anything Asian, also such a dish cooked with the fermented beans. Its a one pot complete meal.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nava, yes, can be a one pot meal and also a very satisfying meal too :)

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  8. Hi Ivy , I love Asian foods , but never had this dish , so I put it on my to do list , it looks so delicious , thanks for sharing:)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nee, glad that you like it. I used to have this dish since my grandparents days and still loving it. Have a wonderful week ahead :)

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  9. Your dish looks good, makes me want to have some although i am not too good with the bitter gourd :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi LHB, this is a very simple dish and easy to follow too. You can start with bitter gourd omelette and it's yummy too :)

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  10. Hi Ivy, I have tried pork ribs with bitter gourd but not chicken. I would love to get hold of that cookbook.

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  11. Hi Lian, yes, I have tried it with pork ribs too but my children prefer it with chicken.

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  12. Hi my dear, wow... I love bitter gourd anytime. Your this recipe look so inviting and delicious... I need extra rice please.:)) It's good that your children love bitter gourd as majorities hate to eat this and it's a very healthy vege. Nice click, very good pictures.

    Love your new outlook and the side bar pictures. They are so sweet and lovely. Keep up the good job.
    Have a lovely day. With hugs to you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi 5, Amelia dear! My favourite too. I can have bitter gourd everyday and would never get tired of it! Thanks for your kind compliments and sweet words. Hugs and muaks to you too :)

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  13. Hi Ivy,

    This combination of tau see, chicken and bitter gourd is always a classic. It looks very yummy with plain steamed rice.

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. Hi Zoe, it's very yummy with plain rice porridge too! Have a wonderful day ahead and cheers :)

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  14. Interesting, Ivy. I don't know bitter gourd. I totally agree though, if introduced to different tastes when young, children will adapt:) I sure wouldn't mind trying to adapt to this dish. It sounds really good:)

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Louise, and have a wonderful day :)

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  15. Ivy, this is a dish that I love but have not cooked for a long, long time. Why? Because I could not get black bean sauce anymore. I used to buy the Lee Kum Kee brand. I guess I will have to buy fermented black beans.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Phong Hong, you can also try PoPo or Bidor Kwong Heng brand. I like these 2 brands too. Have a great weekend :)

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  16. I feel funny about myself because I love all kinds of dishes which are made up from chicken. I relish your recipe and thank you for sharing it. I have noted down the process, will make it some day in my kitchen!

    Regards,
    Arnold Brame

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  17. Thanks for this recipe. Sure my husband loves to eat this dish. Bitter gourd is his favourite. Looks yummy.

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    Replies
    1. It's my pleasure, Amy. Have a wonderful weekend :)

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  18. Thanks and have a great day :)

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  19. Me gusta mucho esta comida saludable se ve delicioso,abrazos.

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  20. oh God, soo good. will try this one for sure. Bookmarked it. Love, if you check in to my space too.. It's www.seenasfoodbasket.com . Keep in touch. Regards

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