Chili and Bitter Melon Chicken (辣椒苦瓜鷄, Laat6 Ziu1 Fu2 Gwaa1 Gai1)

This recipe was updated on 08 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements were added.

Bitter melon and some meat (beef, chicken, pork…) in black bean sauce is a classic Cantonese dish. This recipe adds hot red peppers (e.g. serrano, jalapeño, or Fresno) to give the dish added color and, most importantly, a little heat. I also used a prepared black bean garlic sauce made by Lee Kum Kee. You can of course use salted black beans and garlic to make the sauce, but I wasn’t in the mood and took the easy way out using the prepared sauce.

Salting and then washing the sliced bitter melon turns out to be the easiest and fastest way to remove any excess bitterness. If the bitter melon is slightly wet, the salt does a better job. I just use wet hands to mix the bitter melon slices and salt together, and that seems to do the trick. You only need 5 minutes to reduce the bitterness. The bitterness will diminish further the longer you leave the salt on the bitter melon and after 10 minutes, the bitterness will mostly be removed. Another method to reduce bitterness involves blanching the bitter melon before stir frying, but you need another pot and boiled water. The texture of the bitter melon will also be different if you use the blanching method. You can also choose not to reduce the bitter melon’s bitterness at all, in which case just remove the seed and pith, cut into pieces, and cook. I like to pair bitter melon prepared in this manner with pork spareribs.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh (鷄髀, gai1 bei2) or breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Bitter melon (苦瓜, fu2 gwaa1), halved and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Salt (鹽, jim4)
2	2	Red serrano, jalapeño, or Fresno peppers (辣椒, laat6 ziu1), cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Lee Kum Kee brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce (蒜蓉豆豉醬, syun3 jung4 dau6 si6 zoeng3) or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 tsp.	20 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Lee Kum Kee Brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce
(蒜蓉豆豉醬, syun3 jung4 dau6 si6 zoeng3)

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any bones and skin. Cut the chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add baking soda to the chicken, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash and cut the bitter melon in half. Using a spoon, remove and discard the pith and seeds from each bitter melon half. Cut ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces from each bitter melon half. Wet the bitter melon pieces and add salt for 5 minutes to remove any excess bitterness. Wash the salt from the bitter melon. The amount of bitterness removed by the salt is proportional to the time before washing from the bitter melon. If you like more bitterness, the salt can be omitted altogether or the time reduced. If you like less bitterness, the time can be increased (after 10 minutes, most of the bitterness will be removed).
4. Remove any stems from the red serrano, jalapeño, or Fresno peppers. The amount of red peppers to use in this dish depends upon personal taste, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
5. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Lee Kum Kee brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the chicken pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the chicken in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the red peppers. Stir fry the red peppers to brown them before adding the bitter melon to the wok. Stir fry the bitter melon to brown them. Add the bowl with the ginger and garlic mixture, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic mixture becomes fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
3. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some liquid (stock or water) to the wok. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.