Braised chicken and black bean paste

Out of convience, I cooked this chicken braised in black bean sauce. Over the weekend when I was looking for some special spices at the sauces section at the supermarket, I came across a small bottle of black bean paste. I have been familiar with soy bean paste of several kinds and flavor, but black bean paste is still very new to me. Previously I only cooked sweet soups with black beans or sticky rice with black beans, and never used them for savory dishes. And since the bottle was quite cheap, so I decided to buy home and try this paste with other ingredients. 

That’s why today I made this quick meal with only chicken and black bean paste. I dared not use too many ingredients before I had more experience with this paste. So I cooked the chicken quite simply. I only add the shallot and ginger, which I knew would add better smell to the chicken. The black bean paste was a little too salty, so I mixed it with a little water first and then combined with the chicken to cook. 

After all, I could enjoy a very flavourful chicken. The flavor was new but it tasted really good. Now I am thinking of what other ingredients I am going to cook with this paste next time…

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

- half of one chicken or 2 legs, cut into pieces

- 1 shallot, sliced

- 1 small piece of ginger, cut into thin strips

- ground black pepper

- 2 tbs black bean paste 

- 1 little water

- fresh cilantro, to serve

Cooking:

- Combine the chicken with shallot and ginger in a saucepan.

- Mix black bean paste with a little water and stir in the chicken. Over medium-low heat, cook the chicken for about 20-25 minutes. 

- Serve with steamed rice and fresh cilantro.