Braised Chicken with Bittergourd

Today I felt like eating bittergourd. I used to hate eating bittergrourd when I was younger. I guess it is an acquired taste. Somehow I learned to like it when I grew older. And now it has come become one of my favourite vegetables (well, depending on how it is being cooked laa.. :P)

I've always just do plain stir-fry bittergourd with garlic or thin bittergourd slices egg omelette. But today N was longing for this braised chicken with bittergourd dish. Unfortunately I have not cooked this dish before and I've no inkling what to put to flavour the dish.

So again, it's MIL to the rescue! (and you thought it was my mom rite? If it was my mom, do you think I wouldn't have known how to cook after helping her in the kitchen all these years? :P) N called MIL and she helpfully described the cooking steps and recipe. Well, a fast learner like me can quickly pick up how the dish is being cooked without any visual aid ok? hahaha...

Here goes my first try...

Ingredients
Bitter gourd, cut to about 0.5 thick slices
Chicken pieces
Red chillies, cut to think strips
Garlic, chopped
Red onions, sliced
Yellow bean paste (Tau Cheong paste)
Sugar
Soya sauce
Cooking oil
Cornflour
Water


Steps
1. Heat some oil in the wok. Put in some onions and the bittergourd slices, and stir fry the ingredients for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in the chicken pieces and chilli strips. Stir fry them with the bittergourd.
3. Add few teaspoons of bean paste (not too much, it's salty!) to the stir fry ingredients.
4. Mix some cornflour with water, and pour in to the stir fry ingredients.
5. Add more water if needed. (you need some water to braise the ingredients)
6. Add some sugar and soya sauce to taste (to counter the saltiness of the bean paste and the bitterness of the bittergourd).
7. Stir fry everything a 1-2 minutes, then put on the lid to braise the ingredients.
8. If the bittergourd's fresh green colours turns to darker green, and it it soft enough, then the dish is ready.
9. Dish out and serve.

Well, according to N, I did fairly well for a first-timer. Though he commented it was not salty enough. (aiyah...I say he has a salty tongue, he likes his food to be salty, while I prefer less salt)