Chicken With Soya Bean Paste (Taucheow Chicken)

This is another dish that makes its regular rounds on my mum's menu. We call this "Kay Chu Taucheow". It is a dish that is full of robust flavors that come from the salty and pungent soya bean paste (taucheow). Salty and slightly sweet, this is a dish that makes us ask for more rice.

The ingredients used are ginger, garlic, onions and taucheow. The chillies are optional but I love having them for that extra oomph. It is quite nostalgic replicating my mum's dishes as it brings me back to those days when I would look forwards to mealtimes. Yeah, my favorite time of the day was lunch and dinner :)

When the taucheow is being sauteed with garlic and ginger, you cannot help but pay attention. The smell is truly heavenly! You would know immediately that a very good meal is coming your way. I love to add big onions in two stages. First is to saute with the taucheow, garlic and ginger and when the chicken is almost cooked, I will throw in another batch which I will cook until the onions are just wilted. I love lots of onions in this dish . They add sweetness and lots of flavour.

When you take a piece of chicken, be sure to scoop up the onions together with the thick gravy. Mix them into your rice and you'll understand what I am talking about. The taste is simply delicious. Enough said!

But no, I won't stop talking just yet. Be sure to julienne the ginger finely because you don't want to get a big jolt of ginger that might spoil your experience if you are not a big fan of ginger. I am generally a ginger lover, so big bites of ginger is fine for me. Also, make sure you use enough oil to saute the ingredients or else the result won't be satisfactory. OK, I shall now leave you in peace with the recipe :)

Chicken with Soya Bean Paste (Taucheow Chicken)

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

- 1/2 chicken, cut into bit size pieces (about 600g)

- 1 knob ginger measuring about 1"x1", finely julienned

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 big onions, cut into wedges - reserve one onion for later

- 2 red chillies, sliced (optional)

- 1 heaped tablespoon taucheow (soya bean paste)

Seasoning :

- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce

- 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce

- 1 teaspoon sugar

To thicken gravy :

- 1 teaspoon of cornflour mixed with 1.5 tablespoon of water.

- spring onions to garnish

Method :

1. In a small bowl, mix light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and sugar. Set aside

2. Heat oil in a wok and saute ginger and garlic until aromatic.

3. Add taucheow and saute until aromatic and add onions wedges (from 1 onion)

4. When the onions are soft, add chicken and seasoning. Stir to mix everything together.

5. Add a bit of water and cover the wok. Simmer, stirring every now and then.
6. When the chicken is almost cooked, add the second big onion. Stir and continue to simmer until the onions are slightly wilted.

7. To thicken gravy, add cornflour mixture and bring to a boil. Continue to stir to coat chicken with the gravy.

8. Dish out and garnish with spring onions.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake.