Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd (苦瓜焖鸡)
Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd
Where food pairings go, I think chicken and bitter gourd is like a marriage made in heaven. I believe that those who do not like bitter gourd may find it more acceptable when cooked in this way. In this recipe, the chicken and bitter gourd are simmered in a claypot with tau cheo (soya beans paste) and fermented black beans. This is total comfort food to me. Claypot is excellent for braises and stews like this because not only does it add flavour to the food, it also conduct the heat evenly throughout the casserole and you can serve the dish right away in the claypot. I cooked this pot in advance and heat it up for dinner. If you do not have a claypot, you can still cook this dish using a wok or pot.
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Chicken & Bitter Gourd Stew Cooked in a Claypot
I recently added a traditional claypot to my growing list of cooking equipment and this is the first dish I cooked with it. That is why the claypot still looks quite clean, I do hope that it will look more beautifully seasoned with continued use. If you are interested in claypot cooking, check out my article about claypot care and prepping claypot for the first time, and of course more claypot cooking recipes.
Ingredients
(Serves 3-4)
- 1/2 chicken, cut to pieces (you can also use chicken thighs and other cuts)
- half bitter gourd/bitter melon (about 300-400g)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp tau cheo (soya bean paste)
- 1/2 tbsp black fermented beans (rinsed, patted dry and mashed slightly with a fork)
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled & bruised
- 5 slices ginger
- salt
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (shao hsing/hua tiao)
- light soy sauce, to taste (optional)Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Cut Bitter Gourd1. Cut the bitter gourd in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrap out the seeds and white pulp. Rub some salt on the flesh portion and leave for a few minutes before rinsing the salt off. This will remove some of the bitterness (skip this step if you like it bitter). Slice the bitter gourd in half lengthwise again, then cut it to 2.5cm (1 inch) vertical slices. See photo above.
2. Heat sesame oil in clay pot, stir fry tau cheo & fermented black beans until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add chicken pieces, bitter gourd, garlic and ginger. Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink on the surface.
4. Add sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Cover claypot with lid and simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Season to taste with light soy sauce or salt, if needed. If you like, add a splash of Chinese wine to the cooked stew as a finishing touch, and off the flame when you smell the lovely aroma of the wine.
Cooking Note
1. If your claypot is not big enough to stir fry the chicken and bittergourd, stir fry them in a wok first (steps 2-4) and then transfer the contents of the wok to a clay pot to simmer.
2. If you do not have a claypot, you can still cook this dish using a regular wok or pot.
Related Article
- Claypot Cooking Care
Check out all claypot recipes.
More Chicken Recipes
- Braised Chicken with Carrots and Mushrooms
- Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus and Salted Fish
- Sesame Oil Chicken
- Steamed D.O.M Chicken
- Steamed Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup
More Bittergourd Recipes
- Bitter Gourd with Egg Stir Fry
- Bitter Gourd Soup
Who’s Also Cooking This
- Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd by Delicious Asian Food
- Braised Bitter Gourd Chicken by Pig Pig’s Corner
- Bitter Gourd & Chicken Stew by Little Inbox
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
actually i planning to cook this for dinner today, your look so yummy too.
i love anything with fermented black beans! yum!
This combination, bittergourd with chicken is quite new to me. I only stir fry bittergourd with beef or eggs, hehe… Will try yours next time. :)
hi wiffy,
where did u buy your claypot from? been looking for one for a long time but those that I see at the hardware shops look very dirty or the clay material look “powdery”. i was thinking whether the “tanyu” brand of claypots are as good.
hey SS! Sorry I was joking to you about the sparkles nickname, feel free to use it as you like. I got my claypot at the straight row of shophouses facing Chinatown Complex (the big hawker). One of the shops sell crockery including the claypots. I think tanyu is more famous for their double-boilers for soup? But for claypot, maybe this type is more authentic and traditional esp if you want it for making claypot rice. Before cooking, immerse the claypot in water to soak for about an hour, then boil some water or porridge in it. This will seal up any holes in the pot (the material is porous), and also get rid of the ‘powder’. hope this helps.
hi dear, thanks for your reply! the shophouses is at which street? is it called sia huat (at temple street), nearer maxwell food centre?
recently i bought an electric mini double boiler and tried making white fungus dessert, realise that it’s so cheap and easy to make this at home! hehe, cos cannot afford to eat bottled birds nest so often, so white fungus dessert is an alternative haha
not sia huat, but you can check them out. They used to sell it, but they told me some time back that they had a shortage of supply, now not sure if their stock is back. I dunno the street name, but you know the big two-storey hawker centre called Chinatown Complex? You will see a short row of shops facing it, cannot miss, and one of the shops sell crockery. Call me if you are there and can’t find :P wah, didn’t know you are into cooking these days hehe
Wow, every where I visit I see bitter gourd!! I like the way you cooked it too, definitely looks like a comfort food to me.
Love this hearty and homey dish! :) Very hungry now!
Great recipe! Tried it tonight and loved it! Even my hubby who doesn’t like bitter melon enjoyed this dish! :)
that’s fast! thanks for trying, glad your family like it :)
I can’t get enough of bitter gourd!! hee heee…..or (we) can’t get enough of bitter gourd. One week is your bitter gourd, then another week, I have another bitter gourd post. Then this week, you have another bittergourd dish, and I have another one coming along! Hahahah! Anyway, more the merrier..cos I love it. I like this way of cooking bittergourd too but I hardly do it.
told you we have telepathy + same taste buds kekeke …
Adore the idea of making the dish in advance, allowing the flavors to deepen. Though I’m not a fan of bitter gourd, I’d enjoy chicken with the infused flavors from fermented black beans.
I can eat chicken everyday and love this dish very much with bitter gourd. Must cook this delicious dish for my family this weekend. Thanks for sharing :)
i am curious about the use of the bitter gourd. you mention that the salt takes some of the bitterness away, how much exactly? and is the rest of the dish bitter in anyway?
personally, i love bittergourd, in small doses and would like to introduce it to my american boyfriend but it has to be a right dish to ensure he’ll try it again…
yes it takes away some but not all of the bitterness, maybe about 1/3? If you cut the bitter gourd to chunks first and apply salt to the exposed area, more bitterness can be removed. Some people also par boil the bitter gourd in salted water, but I personally don’t like that method. The gravy has a slight bitter taste, the chicken is not bitter.
Wow! A traditional claypot! That sounds interesting…Hmmmm…bittergourd? I know it is very nutritious but not really a fan of it. I have learned though that if it has been soaked in water it becomes less bitter in taste, not sure if the nutrients get washed off along the process. This recipe looks good though, quite agressive! Thanks for sharing!
Does a claypot take very long to start cooking (like slow cooker)? If not, i think i will go and buy one. It would be so nice to cook and serve in one :P
No, it’s about the same as heating up a normal pot. But instead of using high heat right away, start with medium flame to heat up the pot, then gradually increase the temperature. At least that’s what I do, in case the sudden change in temperature cause the clay pot to break.
I haven’t eaten bitter gourd for a long time because I have a picky eater (senior) who refuses to try it no matter what. :(
A perfect autumn dish. I miss bitter gourd.
Clay pot cooking is so lovely. I’ve been reading about clay pots used for Moroccan food lately. They hold heat so well, and they look great. This dish does sound like total comfort food!
how can we proceed/make that claypot chicken w/ bitter gourd if we didnt have an sesame oooilll?
are the claypot chicken w/ bitter gourd are tasty,aren’t it?
i a like this recipe but can you show me how get rid of the bitter tatse..
Just cooked this dish today and it smelled heavenly! I learned from a book that we should ‘scald’ the bittergourd and chicken in hot oil first before cooking it in the claypot to preserve the moisture as well as retain the shape :)
that is a great tip, thanks for sharing! I think all zi char scald most of the ingredient before stir-frying first, but I won’t do it for home-cooking because of the work, lol