How to make Steamed Chicken in Watermelon and the recipes of Steamed Chicken in Watermelon

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Steamed Chicken in Watermelon

Ingredients

Main Ingredients and Seasonings:

  • Young chicken: 1 (approximately 750 grams)
  • Small, tender watermelon: 1 (approximately 1500 grams)
  • Ginger slices: 10 grams
  • Shaoxing wine: 5 grams
  • Dried shiitake mushrooms: 10 grams
  • Fine salt: 5 grams
  • Ham slices: 25 grams
  • MSG (monosodium glutamate): 3.5 grams
  • Scallion segments: 10 grams
  • Chicken broth: 1000 grams

Cooking Method

  1. After preliminary processing, remove the chicken’s beak, wingtips, and 1/3 of the claws. Debone the chicken and chop into walnut-sized pieces. Blanch in boiling water until partially cooked, then wash clean.
  2. Scrape and clean the watermelon skin. On one end, use a knife to cut a zigzag mouth and scoop out the flesh. On the other end, flatten (without leaking through the bottom) to stabilize.
  3. Marinate the chicken pieces with 2 grams of Shaoxing wine, 1.5 grams of MSG, and 2 grams of fine salt. Stuff the chicken pieces into the hollowed watermelon along with wood ear mushrooms, ham slices, and 500 grams of chicken broth. Cover with the watermelon lid, place in a large bowl, steam until fully cooked, then remove from the steamer.
  4. Transfer the cooked watermelon and its juices into a pot. Add scallion segments, ginger slices, 3 grams of fine salt, 3 grams of Shaoxing wine, 1.5 grams of MSG, and the remaining 500 grams of chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and serve.

Key Techniques

  1. Plucking feathers should begin after the chicken has completely stopped struggling post-slaughter. If done too early, muscle spasms may cause tight skin, making feather plucking difficult. If done too late, the body may stiffen, also hindering feather removal. The water temperature for scalding the chicken should ideally be between 60-80 degrees Celsius. Care should be taken not to puncture the chicken skin.
  2. When opening the chicken cavity, avoid damaging the liver and gallbladder. Contact with bile can impart a bitter taste to the chicken meat, significantly affecting the dish’s quality.

Flavor Characteristics

“Steamed Chicken in Watermelon,” also known as “Watermelon Steamed Chicken,” is a famous regional dish from Anyang in northern Henan Province. After hollowing out the watermelon, it is filled with young chicken pieces and seasonings, then steamed. The dish aims to enhance freshness, tenderness, and flavor, using the natural fragrance of watermelon to create a refreshing, delicious, and cooling dish ideal for summer.

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