Miso Honey Chicken

This recipe is simply a guide and ingredients can be swapped for others you have in your pantry and fridge and to your taste.

I’ve placed cooks notes above the method, reading these tips before you start cooking makes sense to me. You'll learn essential tips and suggestions to make preparing this dish a breeze plus understand the flavour profile you are building in this dish.

This is a marinade with immense flavour. Miso has a magical quality of bringing the 5th flavour profile to your table – Umami. This savoury flavour is one our taste buds adore, and the salty taste is balanced with sweet honey and sharp vinegar in this mixture. To complete this exciting flavour combination, some heat can be added too if liked.

Miso Honey Chicken

INGREDIENTS FOR FOUR

MISO MARINADE

2Tbsp white miso
2Tbsp honey
1Tbsp light soy sauce
1Tbsp vinegar
3tsp grated fresh ginger
2 x medium garlic cloves, crushed
1Tbsp water
4-8 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skin on bone in

RICE AND VEGGIES

1¼ cups sella basmati rice
couple of green vegetables, pre-cooked
Handful of spring onion green stalks finely sliced
Chilli sauce or condiment (optional)

COOKS NOTES

• Since making this recipe a number of times, it's 100% better made with bone-in, skin-on chicken; the chicken has enough time in the oven to turn burnished gold and even more delicious. You'll see me use 600gm boneless skinless thighs in the video, which are fine if you need to make this recipe in a hurry as they'll cook within 10-15 minutes.
• Pressed for time? Make a pared back version of marinade with 100gm miso, 2 Tbsp honey, 1Tbsp vinegar.
• If a bit of heat is liked in marinade, add ¼-½tsp red pepper flakes or chilli flakes.
• White Miso is a mild sweet/salty, thick soy bean paste fermented by health giving Koji bacteria. It can be used in almost any savoury recipe to give a flavour boost - use sparingly at first until used to its flavour giving strength.
• Cook chicken on baking tray, not roasting tin. The lower sides will allow hot air to colour the chicken during cooking, whereas a roasting tin with its high sides will inhibit this so the chicken will steam rather than roast.
• Use chicken pieces, skin-on, bone-in for even more flavour. Decrease oven temperature to 180°C and increase cooking time to 40 - 45 minutes.
• Use the fingertip method to judge for doneness. When meat is springy to touch it indicates it is cooked through. This is a method that is learnt over time, but is the easiest to use as all you need is your finger, no need to faff around with thermometers! Always rest meat before serving to complete cooking and relax the meat fibres making it tender and succulent.
• Cook rice in rice cooker or microwave cooker if preferred.
• Sella Basmati is a long grain fragrant rice with high nutrition. The grains are part boiled to seal the goodness in and help to keep the grains separate. Buy from Asian supermarkets or MOT Providore.
• Make a sticky rice with Sushi rice to serve with miso chicken if liked.

ALTERNATIVES

• No soy sauce? Use Tamari instead.
• Rice wine vinegar is the traditional ingredient in this marinade. If not available, use a good Apple Cider (or Cider Apple) vinegar, white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.
• Green vegetables – spinach, kale, frozen baby peas, green beans, snow or sugar snap peas, broccoli, broccolini, Savoy cabbage.
• Add heat with a sprinkle of Schichimi Togarashi, red pepper flakes, chilli flakes or serve with Sriracha, your favourite Hot Sauce brand or my favourite, Krunchilli.

METHOD

1. Mix marinade ingredients together using small whisk.
2. Cover thighs with marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven to 190°C. Place thighs on non-stick paper lined baking tray, roast for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on thickness, until chicken is cooked through and golden.
4. While chicken is cooking, simmer rice in double the amount of water, with a good pinch salt for about 12 minutes. Keep lid on saucepan so rice absorbs the water, rather than it evaporating. Once there is no more water visible in the saucepan, turn off heat and leave lid on for 5 to 10 minutes, to complete cooking. No need to stir, so don’t – just trust the process.
5. Cook your chosen green vegetables.
6. To serve, add cooked veggies to hot rice and spoon onto plates. Top with miso honey chicken and spoon over any sauce from baking tray. Scatter with spring onions and serve with chilli condiment if liked.

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