Steamed Chicken with Salt Fish, Basil, and Fuzzy Melon

The recipe was adapted from the Steamed Chicken and Salt Fish recipe from the House of Annie blog. This version adds basil and fuzzy melon to make a one dish meal. Boneless chicken thigh pieces are used instead of the drumettes. Regardless, the chicken should be marinated at least 4 hours (overnight is preferable) before steaming.

The ingredients should be layered in a heat proof dish in the following order:

1. Fuzzy melon in one layer on the bottom of the heat proof dish
2. Basil leaves layered on top of the fuzzy melon base
3. Marinated chicken
4. Salt Fish
5. Julienned ginger

I hope you enjoy this dish!

Chicken and Marinade Ingredients

1 lbs. Chicken Thigh Meat cut into 1 inch square pieces

1 tsp. (or to taste) White Pepper

1 Tbs. Thick Soy Sauce (醬油膏)              

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

Other Ingredients

1 medium sized Fuzzy Melon (mo gwa, 毛) or enough to layer the bottom and to decorate the side of the dish

½ cup (approx) Basil to layer on top of the fuzzy melon

2.5” x 0.5” piece Salt Fish (hom yu, 鹹魚) cut or shredded into small pieces (see notes)

1 inch piece Ginger (goeng, 薑), julienned

1 stalk Chopped Scallions (cung, 蔥) for topping after steaming (optional)

Cooking Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken for 4 hours (or overnight) using the white pepper, thick soy sauce, and 1 Tbs. of the Shaoxing Rice Wine. 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. Add water to the steamer and bring to a boil over high heat. Prepare the dish while bringing the steamer to a boil.
3. Quarter the fuzzy melon into pieces and line the bottom of the heat proof dish with the pieces. More quartered fuzzy melon pieces can be used to decorate the side of the dish (see picture).
4. Place one layer of basil leaves on top of the fuzzy melon. The amount of basil can be varied according to taste.
5. Place the chicken pieces and any remaining marinade in one layer on top of the basil.
6. Debone and then cut or shred the salt fish into small pieces. Distribute the pieces on top of the chicken. The amount of salt fish used can be varied according to taste.
7. Julienne the ginger and spread the pieces on top of the salted fish.
8. Sprinkle the remaining Shaoxing Rice Wine on top of the layered ingredients in the heat proof dish.
9. Put the heat proof dish into he steamer and steam over medium-high heat for 10-15 mins. or until the chicken is done.
10. Carefully remove the dish from the steamer and top with chopped scallions (optional).
11. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

1.  Salt fish is available dried, frozen, or bottled. For the dried version, you may need to rehydrate the fish before steaming; otherwise the 10-15 minute steaming time may not soften the fish enough. Salt fish (mackerel) is also available frozen in pieces, in which case one piece needs to be defrosted before use. The bottled version (Caravelle brand Salted Mackerel in Soya Bean Oil) is easier to use and keep around since there’s no need to rehydrate or defrost before use.