Braised Chicken Wings With Bitter Gourd

Either you love or hate bitter gourd! I used to hate bitter gourd when I was young. Only the recent years, I start to enjoy and actually love this bitter melon, especially cook with Tau Cheo or salted fermented black beans. I used claypot to braise and the whole dish was so flavorsome. I only use half of the bitter gourd for this dish and the other half, I made bitter gourd omelet.

Ingredients:

8 mid joint wings
1/2 bitter gourd (cut into chunks)
1 clove of garlic (finely minced)
6 slices ginger
1 tbsp Taucheo (chopped finely)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp cooking oil
Salt
Water

Optional:

1 tsp fermented black beans

Marinate the wings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
A dash of pepper

Methods:

1. Soak the cut bitter gourd with salt and water for at least 30 minutes. Or rub the bitter gourd with 1 tsp of salt for 30 seconds and rinse off the salt. Drain and set aside.

2. Marinate the wings for at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in the claypot. Sauté the ginger and garlic.

4. Toss the wings and pan fry the wings for 2 minutes.

5. Add the bean paste and toss in the bitter gourd.

6. Add some water and let it boil. Add the oyster sauce.

7. Turn the heat down and let it simmer until the bitter gourd soften and wings are cooked.

8. Taste the sauce. If not salty enough, add either bean paste or oyster sauce. If the sauce is too salty, add more water.