Chicken and Fuzzy Melon Turmeric Stir Fry

If this recipe looks familiar, you’ve been looking at the first two recipes that I posted. I have to admit that I couldn’t throw away the remainder of the marinade used in the Malay-Style Grilled Turmeric Chicken Breast recipe, and I had some chicken and fuzzy melon left over from the Steamed Chicken with Salt Fish, Basil, and Fuzzy Melon recipe. So I combined what was left in my refrigerator and made a stir fry. As you can see, I’ll use whatever’s available to make a meal.

It usually is not a good idea to reuse a marinade, but in this case the leftover marinade was cooked thoroughly to make the sauce for the dish. Since I expect you to make this recipe from scratch, the ingredients are listed with that assumption.

The chicken needs some preparation time, so you’ll need a minimum of 2 hours for prep and marinating, but marinating overnight is preferable. The baking soda serves to make the finished cooked chicken very tender – just be sure to wash it out before marinating. This step can be omitted, but try tenderizing your chicken (or any other meat for that matter) this way and you’re likely to be a believer.

This turned out to be a tasty single-dish meal and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Chicken Preparation Ingredients

1 lb. boneless and skinless Chicken Thigh pieces cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp. Baking Soda


Chicken Marinade Ingredients

1 tsp. (or to taste) White Pepper

1 Tbs. Thick Soy Sauce (醬油膏) (see notes)

1 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine (siu hing zau, 紹興酒) or Dry Sherry

Turmeric Sauce Ingredients

1 Tbs. Turmeric

½ tsp. Cumin

½ tsp. Fennel

½ tsp. Brown Sugar

½ tsp. Mustard Powder (hot mustard powder or Coleman’s brand)

½ tsp. White Pepper

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

½ inch knob of Ginger (goeng, 薑), crushed

1 Tbs. Soy Sauce (si jau, 豉油)

1 Tbs. Soy Paste (Kimlan brand; see notes)

1 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry

Vegetable Ingredients

1 small Fuzzy Melon (mo gwa, 毛瓜) cut into quartered pieces

1 small Carrot cut into matchsticks

Garnish Ingredients

1 Lime, cut into wedges (optional)

1-2 sprigs of Mint (optional)

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thighs by removing any skin or bones, and cut the meat into 1 inch pieces.
2. Add the baking soda to the chicken thigh meat, allow the meat to tenderize for 10 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. This step can be omitted.
3. Marinate the chicken for 1 hour (or overnight) using the white pepper, thick soy sauce (see notes), and Shaoxing Rice Wine.
4. Prepare the turmeric sauce using the turmeric, cumin, fennel, brown sugar, mustard powder, white pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, soy paste, and Shaoxing Rice Wine. Crush the garlic and ginger using a garlic press, or equivalent, before adding it to the marinade.
5. Cut the fuzzy melon into quartered pieces and the carrot into matchsticks.

Cooking Instructions

1. Stir fry the ingredients. Brown the chicken pieces first and set the partially cooked chicken aside.
2. Stir fry the carrot and then add the fuzzy melon. Don’t overcook the vegetables.
3. Add the chicken pieces back with the vegetables and then add the turmeric sauce. Allow to simmer for at least 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the cooked ingredients to the serving dish. Optionally add lime juice and the mint to the dish.
5. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

1. Thick soy sauce is darker and thicker than regular soy sauce due to the addition of molasses. Regular soy sauce can also be used if thick soy sauce is not available.
2. Soy paste is made by Kimlan. Regular soy sauce can be used if soy paste is not available.