Pongteh Chicken: Nyonya Blackbeans Sauce Chicken
Impulsive buying is a common act when I shopped in the Asian supermarkets. I am vulnerable to discounted items on the shelf. I will find ways to convince myself that I need to buy them even without ideas on what I am going to do with them. The tub of black beans paste is not an exception. It has been sitting in my pantry for quite some time. I finally put it into use when I spotted it has merely a month life span remaining.
The very first dish I attempted with black beans paste is a Peranakan dish from South East Asian named Pongteh Chicken aka blackbeans sauce chicken. It is a popular dish serve in Nyonya Restaurants and is best enjoy with fluffy white rice and sambal belacan (shrimp paste chili).
Ingredients
350g chicken piece (highly recommend chicken thigh)
5-8 shiitake mushrooms (socked in water overnight)
4 medium size potatoes (boiled and cubed)
5 shallots (minced)
5 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 tbsp of cooking oil
3 cups of water
Sauce
2 tbsp of blackbeans paste
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 Duong Thot Not palm sugar
salt to taste
Direction
1. Heat up the cooking oil in the pan and stir fry the minced shallots and garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in the chicken pieces and sauce. Stir till the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauce.
3. Pour in the water and add-in the boiled potatoes and shiitake mushroom.
4. Close the lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
A simple scallion omelette complement the dish perfectly. Fantastic dinner for the day! I received great compliments for my pongteh chicken.
Tips
I highly recommend to use chicken thighs for the dish as the thighs are more suitable for extended simmering as compared to chicken breast.
