Bitter Gourd with Chicken in Fermented Black Beans

Bitter gourd or bitter melon is delicious cooked in this simple Chinese dish. Bitter gourd is very low in calories but very high in nutrients.  It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and has high dietary fiber.  It is rich in iron, contains twice the beta-carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, and twice the potassium of a banana.  Now that you know all the goodness of bitter gourd, give this a try if you have not tried it before. Luckily for me, my children love this veggie. There are other methods to cook this bitter melon, will post them when I cook them!

Fermented black beans

I'm sharing this at Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story.  


Bitter Gourd with Chicken In Fermented Black Beans
Ingredients :
1 whole chicken thigh, remove skin and cut to small pieces
1 medium size bitter gourd melon
1 tbsp fermented black bean
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 clove garlic, minced
3 slices ginger, cut to julienne strips
1 tsp black soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup water

Method :

1. Marinate chicken pieces with the oyster sauce.  Stir in sesame oil.  Keep aside.
2. How to cut bitter gourd : Slice half lengthwise, remove seeds. Cut crosswise to three sections, then cut each section lengthwise to thickness of about 1cm sticks.
3. Heat oil. Saute minced garlic and ginger till fragrant.  Add fermented black beans and stir for half a minute. Add chicken pieces and stir for about  3 minutes. Add in the bitter gourd and stir for about 1 minute.  Add water, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Stir till evenly combined. Cover, simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice in between, till chicken is cooked and bitter gourd is tender.
4. Dish out and serve hot. Enjoy!