Chef's Notes
Total time excludes marinating time.
Leaving the skin on keeps the chicken flesh moist, but you can remove the skin before eating.
The marinade can also be used for meat or fish.
You can substitute bone-in chicken thigh, chicken legs or boneless chicken breasts. You may prefer to remove or leave the skin on.
You can use other types of miso. Miso paste varies in salt content, please adjust the amount according to your taste. There are unpasteurized and organic miso pastes that are now widely available.
Pure black sesame was used in this recipe.
You can use the Japanese mandoline to julienne the carrots.
OTHER COOKING METHOD:
To bake, preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
Bake chicken with a little bit of the marinade, uncovered, until the chicken is no longer pink.
To pan fry, heat about 2 tbsp of oil in skillet over medium-high heat and add chicken pieces, skin side down and cook until lightly brown, turn to other side and do the same. Discard excess oil from the pan and add the marinade sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove the lid, let remaining marinade sauce evaporate. Slice the chicken or serve whole and transfer on a plate. Pour thickened sauce over the chicken.
HIJIKI:
Hijiki contains the most calcium of any of the sea vegetables (gram per gram, it contains 14 times more than milk.) They also contain an abundance of other trace elements, protein and B vitamins.
Eaten alone, hijiki can be pretty strong in flavor. It is best combined with other foods. They are also used in stir-fries and slow cooking.
Step 1: Make the marinade
- 1" -inch piece fresh ginger root
- 2 garlic cloves
- 6 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- 4 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp sugar
To prepare the marinade, first peel and grate the ginger, then peel and crush the garlic with a knife. Place these in a bowl and add the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. Mix well.
Step 2: Marinate the Chicken
- 1 1/2 lb boneless chicken thighs *
Remove excess fat from the chicken. Add this to the marinade. Cover and marinate chicken pieces in the fridge for at least 3 hours up to 12 hours, stirring them occasionally.
Step 3: Make the dressing for the salad
- 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp shiro miso
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp pure sesame oil
- Dash of Shichimi-togarashi (7-spice powder), to taste
In a dry heavy frying pan, toast sesame seeds over moderate heat, shaking pan for even cooking. Remove the seeds from the heat immediately when they turn lightly golden brown. Transfer to a plate.
When slightly cooled, grind the seeds using a Japanese grinding bowl called suribachui or a spice grinder. Texture should be flaky (just coarsely ground).
Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well until well blended. Set aside.
Step 4: Prepare mise-en-place for carrot salad
- 1 tbsp dried hijiki
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lb carrots
- 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves (about 1 cup packed)
Soak the hijiki in water for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and cut the carrots in julienne.
Taste the hijiki while they are still soaking to check if they still need to soaked a little bit longer. They should be soft but still al dente. Then drain the hijiki through a strainer and then rinse under cold running water to remove the strong flavor. Then, push excess water from the hijiki. Drain well.
You can save the soaking liquid to water your plant(s).
Remove cilantro leaves from the thick stem.
Set aside.
Step 5: Cooking the Chicken
- oil (for grilling)
Preheat gas or electric grill. Lightly oil the grill grate. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill until chicken is no longer pink, basting with marinade halfway. Cut the chicken into 1/2" -inch strips (or leave it whole). Transfer to a plate along with the chicken drippings.
Step 6: Combining the Salad and Finishing the Dish
- 1/2" -inch piece fresh ginger root (or young ginger)
- 1 green onion
To finish the dish, peel and grate the ginger, then chop the green onion. Set aside.
Combine all the ingredients for the salad from step 4. Add the dressing and toss until combined. Serve with the chicken.
For extra kick, garnish the chicken with grated ginger and chopped green onion. Serve the chicken and the salad with steamed Japanese rice, if desired.