Braised miso chicken

Ingredients

• 800 g boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
• 100 g red miso (hatcho or aka miso)
• 600 ml dashi (Japanese kombu and bonito broth)
• 100 ml cooking sake
• 100 ml mirin
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 1 piece fresh ginger
• 2 pieces leek (or Japanese negi scallion)
• 300 g Japanese short-grain rice
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds

Method

1. Prepare the dashi according to the prepared component, or dilute the instant dashi; keep warm.
2. Cut the chicken thighs into large, even pieces (3 to 4 per thigh) keeping the skin on, and pat them dry with paper towels.
3. Heat a cast-iron Dutch oven or donabe over medium heat without fat and place the chicken skin-side down; let brown without touching it until the skin is well colored, then flip the pieces for one minute.
4. Meanwhile, peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices, and cut the leek into angled segments, separating the white from the green.
5. Pour the hot dashi, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce into the pot, add the sliced ginger and white leek parts, and scrape the bottom to release the browned bits.
6. Bring to a simmer, skim if necessary, then cover three-quarters of the way and simmer over low heat until the chicken is tender and the juices have slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.
7. Ladle a scoop of hot broth into a bowl and whisk in the red miso until you get a smooth paste without lumps.
8. Stir the thinned miso into the pot, mix gently and simmer uncovered for a few more minutes without ever boiling, until the sauce lightly coats the chicken and takes on a beautiful glossy finish.
9. Add the green leek parts, turn off the heat and let rest covered for 5 minutes so the flavors meld.
10. During cooking, cook the Japanese short-grain rice (rinse until the water runs clear, then cook by the absorption method) and keep warm.
11. Serve the chicken in the pot with its miso sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds, alongside the steamed rice.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

868.9 kcal

Protein

46.42 g

Carbohydrate

89.07 g

Fat

30.65 g

Fibre

3.88 g

Calcium

40.91 mg

Iron

0.96 mg

Magnesium

23.39 mg