Braised Bittergourd and Fish Cubes with Salted Black Beans (豆豉焖苦瓜) (4pax)
Ingredient 1. Bittergourd - 1 fruit (12 inch long) 2. Black beans - 1.5 tbsp (coarsely chopped) 3. Tau Cheo (preserve soya bean)- 0.5 tbsp 4. Fish steak / pork soft bones / chicken meat - 400g (cut into big cubes and deep fry till golden brown) 5. Sugar - 0.5 tbsp 6. Oyster sauce - 0.5 tbsp 7. Chopped garlic - 2 cloves worth 8. Corn flour - 1 tsp mix with 1tbsp of water (stir well)
Preparation 1. Cut the bitter into half and remove the seeds and the entire foam like core of the bittergourd.
2. Once done, cut the gourd into pieces of 3 inch long and 1.5cm thick.
3. Rub some salt onto the cutted gourd and leave it for 3 to 5mins. (In the meanwhile, boil a pot of water with some salt n 2 tsp of oil)
4. Rinse it off with running water. Once the water is boiling, blanch the gourd for about 15 secs and remove them.
The Dish 1. Heat wok and add 2 to 3 tbsp of oil. Introduce the chopped garlic into the wok and saute till fragrant and add in the coarsely chopped black beans and tau cheo.
2. Stir fry the mixture for a while and add in the blanched bittergourd.
3. After stir frying for about 40secs, add in water just enough to almost submerge the bitter gourd.
4. Lower the heat, add 0.5 tbsp of oyster sauce, 0.5 tbsp of sugar and allow it to simmer till the water level lowered slightly and add in the fried fish cube, chicken meat or pork soft bones and continue to let it simmer till meat become tender (by picking up a piece and try).
5. If it is not tender enough, add more water and continue to simmer till tender.
6. Once the texture is right, taste it again. If you think that its not salty enough, add a little more of salt (I didn't add any) and you are ready to thicken the gravy by pouring in the corn starch mixture. Remember to stir it fast till it thickens.
7. Serve this dish with porridge or rice or even blanched Hor fun. Do note that if you are serving with Hor fun, make sure there is enough gravy for it. (Add more water at the start)
Mistake made I forget to chop my black beans resulting the beans all stayed at the below and the taste of the beans didn't fully release into the dish.
These are the steps that I took for my favourite dish with porridge.
Happy cooking and Bon Appetit!
