Miso Chicken
Miso chicken is a flavorful alternative to teriyaki chicken fry with a simple ingredient list. The final result is a blend of 4 tastes, with dominant sweet, sour, and salty flavors and just the right amount of umami, which is the soul of Japanese foods. All you need to do is to marinate the chicken, pan-fry it, and then serve it with steamed rice for a flavor-filled experience.
Servings 4 servings
Cost $15
Ingredients
General ingredients
- 5 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp dark sesame oil optional
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro optional
Miso sauce ingredients
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp chile paste
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp dark sesame oil
Instructions
- Prepare miso sauce by whisking the rice vinegar, soy sauce, miso paste, chile paste, garlic and sesame oil together.
- With the help of a knife, price the chicken skin. This will help the chicken fat render more easily during frying and ensure it absorbs maximum flavor during marination.
- Put the chicken thighs in a plastic zipper bag, and put about 1 tbsp of miso sauce per chicken thigh in for marination (keep the rest for later).
- Now remove any air from the bag and seal it tightly. Keep rubbing the plastic until the marinade is thoroughly distributed throughout the chicken pieces.
- Now refrigerate the marinated chicken for a maximum of 24 hours.
- Take out the chicken from the plastic bag, and remove as much marinade as you can from its surface. Remove the remaining marinade with a paper towel, and discard it.
- Pat the chicken dry.
- Now add oil to an unheated pan, and distribute it equally.
- Place the skin side of the chicken on the pan, and leave sufficient space between each piece so that they don't steam.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook the skin, so all the fat renders. Do not touch the chicken pieces for at least 7 minutes, and do not cover the pan with a lid.
- After 7 minutes, see if the skin is browned nicely and well. If yes, flip the chicken and cook the other side for at least 5 minutes. Occasionally press the meat to sear its surface.
- Once both sides of the chicken are nicely browned, pick up your meat thermometer, and check if the temperature registers at 165F. If yes, remove the chicken from the pan, and place it on a cutting board.
- Wait until the chicken is cool enough to handle, and prepare the drizzle sauce meanwhile.
- To make drizzle sauce, wipe off any oil from the pan, add the remaining miso sauce and equal water, and simmer on low heat until thickened.
- Finally, cut the chicken into strips, place them over steamed rice, and top them with drizzle sauce, black sesame oil, and cilantro, and serve!
