Chicken and Pumpkin with Taucheow

I actually deviated from my mum's recipe for Chicken with Yam. Mum's recipe uses yam, which I am avoiding due to it's higher carbohydrate content. I ran out of "taucheow" and because I still have a lot of red miso leftover from the LTU-Soya Bean event, I decided to make do.

I don't remember my mum cooking this dish very often and my recollection is that she cooked it only once. I find mum's dish very tasty as the combination of "taucheow" (fermented bean paste), five spice powder, honey, shallots, garlic and ginger really works to produce something so aromatic and pleasing to the taste buds. 

Seeing that miso is also made from soya beans, I reckon it was alright as a substitute even though I find "taucheow" more "fragrant" and the flavor more robust. My top tip for cooking this dish is to make more of the bean paste ingredients as you want enough to coat every piece of chicken and pumpkin (or yam). Besides, you also want extra for flavoring your rice, without a food fight at the table.

After tasting, I will have to concede that Miso is not a suitable substitute as far as this dish is concerned. But at least I tried and I better put "taucheow" on my shopping list. I'll make it two bottles :)

Chicken and Pumpkin with Taucheow

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :
- 900g chicken, cut into bit size pieces
- 400 pumpkin, cut into cubes (if using yam, steam the yam first and add it in only when the chicken is cooked)

Pound or blend till fine :
- 2 big onions or 25 shallots
- 1 inch ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons taucheow
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 level teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper

Method :
1. Heat oil in wok and saute pounded/blended paste till fragrant.
2. Add chicken pieces and stir to coat. Cover the wok and lower the flame. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add pumpkins and stir. Cover the wok and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked and pumpkins are tender.
4. Taste. This dish should be salty and slightly sweet.

Note : You can add some water to simmer the chicken if you find it too dry. I did not add any water as I know that the chicken will release water and I don't want the dish to be watery.