I love this dish.
Fukwa is also known as Bitter Melon, for good reason. Some varieties are more bitter than others. Once you acquire the taste, it\’s great. A touch of sugar goes well with it to counter the bitterness, which is in keeping with the yin-yang approach of Taoists. (This is a Chinese dish.) Fukwa is supposedly good for the heart, cholesterol and diabetes – and I\’d eat it more often if I could find it in my regular shops. I don\’t expect kids to eat it. (Like I said, it\’s an acquired taste.) Apparently fukwa is contraindicated for pregnant women. This is a vegetable that does not shrink much during cooking.
A word on oyster sauce: I grew up with it and used to love it on lots of things, from steak to vegetables. Then I started to wonder (a) does this really use oysters and if so, how can it last so long without spoiling, and (b) how natural are those other ingredients on the label, like \’caramel colour\’? No answer was satisfying so I gave it up for 15 years or so. Then I weakened, really only in this last year, and this dish is partly to blame. I figure I don\’t have it very often and it really does taste better with just a dash of oyster sauce.
- 2 chicken thighs or 1 chicken breast. (You could try pork if not into chicken.)
- 2 fukwas about 12.5cm in length each.
- 3 garlic cloves
- ginger
- 1 tbs raw sugar
- dark mushroom soy sauce
- 1 tbs dry apera or whiskey
- 3 tbs cornflour
- salt and pepper
- a small shake of oyster sauce
Method:
- Marinate the meat in the soy sauce, apera, cornflour, salt and pepper.
- Chop off the ends of the fukwa, then cut in half before slicing in half lengthways.
- Use a spoon to remove the seeds. If the fukwa is over-ripe, the seeds will be bright red and soft. In that case, abort the recipe. If just a few of them are soft and pink, then it should be ok.
- Fry the garlic and ginger and add the fukwa.
- Add the sugar and keep stirring.
- It will be hard to tell whne the fukwa is done because it doesn\’t change much – but there should be a subtle softening and deeper colour. Test it with a fork. Set aside once done.
- Lift the chicken out of the marinade and fry.
- Add some water to the marinade and then add this to the pot, along with the fukwa and a shake of oyster sauce. Keep stirring and add more water if necessary (if the cornflour is sticking to the pot). Then turn off the heat and let it stand to thicken and mix the flavours. This is one dish that is better for standing. Eating it the next day is even better.