Black Bean Chili Sauce Bitter Melon Shiitake Mushroom Chicken (黑豆辣椒冬菇苦瓜雞, Hak1 Dau6 Laat6 Ziu1 Dung1 Gu1 Fu2 Gwaa1 Gai1)

 

This recipe is similar to the Black Bean Chili Sauce Chicken with Bitter Melon (黑豆辣椒苦瓜雞, Hak¹ Dau⁶ Laat⁶ Ziu¹ Fu² Gwaa¹ Gai¹) recipe that was posted previously. For this recipe, Shiitake mushrooms were used in place of fried tofu. Chicken and bitter melon with a black bean sauce (in this case a spicy black bean sauce) is a classic combination. The classic recipe can be found here: Black Bean Sauce Bitter Melon Chicken (蒜蓉豆豉苦瓜雞, Syun³ Jung⁴ Dau⁶ Si⁶ Fu² Gwaa¹ Gai¹). As usual, the bitterness of the bitter melon is controlled by adding salt for 5 minutes and washing it off the bitter melon. The degree of bitterness is a personal preference, so if you like a more bitter taste, don’t salt or reduce the time of salting, and if you like less bitterness, increase the salting time (after 10 minutes, most of the bitterness will be removed).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (雞肉, gai1 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)
12	12	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 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.	Laoganma brand black bean chili sauce (黑豆辣椒油, hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4) 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

 

Laoganma Brand
Black Bean Chili Sauce
(黑豆辣椒油,
hak1 dau6 laat6 ziu1 jau4)

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour.
2. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut 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.
3. 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. 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).
6. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the Laoganma brand black bean chili 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. Set the chicken aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then remove them to the bowl with the chicken.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bitter melon. Stir fry the bitter melon, add the bowl with the ginger and garlic, and then some oil to the mixture. Quickly stir fry all the ingredients until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Add the contents of the bowl with the chicken back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together.
4. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If more sauce is desired, add some of the mushroom rehydration liquid 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.