MISO-HONEY CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

I cannot lie, I have a fascination with all things miso, both sweet and savory. In this preparation, the miso really comes through, so if you are part of my cheerleading team, MAKE IT! Sooner rather than later…

MISO-HONEY GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS
(adapted from The New York Times)

4 tablespoons white miso
4 tablespoons mild honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chili crisp
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons water
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Make the marinade: In a bowl, whisk together the miso, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, chili crisp sauce -garlic sauce, oil and water. Reserve a little bit of the marinade for serving.

Place the chicken in a shallow dish or zip-top bag and pour the remaining marinade over the top. Toss the chicken until coated and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Grill the chicken for about 15 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through the cooking time. Serve with the reserved marinade. Adjust seasoning if needed, but remember miso is very salty so you should not need to add additional salt.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This one goes into our regular rotation for sure, I love the flavor and the way the honey gives that amazing color to the meat as it grills. We enjoyed it with asparagus and air-fried cauliflower, and leftovers were still delicious next day, which is a real bonus. We love our leftovers…

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10Jun2023

SESAME MISO YAKITORI

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Totally in love with this recipe that was recently published on my friend Tara’s blog (Tara’s Multicultural Table). It will for sure be part of our regular rotation, as the husband already asked me “when will we have it again?”

SESAME MISO YAKITORI
(slightly modified from Tara’s Multicultural Table)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons red miso
2 tablespoons sake (I used Brazilian cachaça)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, ground
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 pound (450 grams) boneless chicken thighs

Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes prior to use.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, miso, sake (or cachaça), ground sesame seeds, and sugar. Place the saucepan over medium low heat and cook, whisking often, until thickened.
Remove from heat and pour 1/3rd of the mixture into a separate bowl and set aside with a clean pastry brush. This bowl of glaze and brush will be for the final coating over the cooked chicken skewers.

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Arrange the chicken on the skewers. Grill the skewers, brushing with the glaze from the saucepan. Cook until golden, then turn and brush again with the miso glaze. Continue to cook until the chicken is fully cooked. Brush the cooked chicken skewers with the clean brush and bowl of miso glaze.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I normally do not have the patience to add meat to skewers. I know it sounds odd, as I can spend hours decorating a single cookie if needed, but such is life. However, this was so absolutely worth it, the texture is improved compared to grilling the boneless thighs as individual, large pieces. Plus, sesame miso sauce is divine. I used it on pork tenderloin and want to pair it with salmon in the near future. It is nutty, with just the right touch of sweetness. Please try this recipe and then thank Tara for it!

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24Jul2022

MISO-GINGER TURKEY MEATBALLS WITH CABBAGE “NOODLES”

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Once again, I share a recipe that will not get any prizes on beauty contests. Brown food, oh so very tricky to get a good-looking picture. But I would never shy away from sharing something tasty, so let’s get to the most important point: how to get this to your table!

MISO-GINGER MEATBALLS WITH CABBAGE “NOODLES”
(inspired by Modern Proper)

1 + 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup finely grated carrot
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
olive oil spray

for the cabbage:
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
finely sliced green cabbage, amount to taste
salt and pepper to taste

to finish the dish:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon white miso paste
sesame seeds for serving

Heat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the miso paste until fully incorporated. Add the ground turkey, almond flour, carrot, ginger, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then with wet hands, form golf ball–size meatballs and place on a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil. Spray the surface of the meatballs with olive oil, and bake for about 20 minutes, turning them midway through baking.

When the meatballs are almost done, start making the cabbage. Heat the oil on a large non-stick skillet until almost smoking. Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and allow it to brown slightly. Move it around, flipping the strands, until cooked through, but don’t let it get mushy. Transfer to a serving dish. To the same skillet, add the soy sauce and miso, whisk until the miso fully dissolves. Add the turkey meatballs to the soy mixture and simmer gently for a few minutes, with the pan covered.

Serve the meatballs with the cabbage noodles, sprinkle with sesame seeds if so desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My friend Tracy a couple of months ago mentioned that cabbage is a great alternative to low-carb “noodles” if you get tired of zucchini. I am a huge fan of zoodles , but decided to give her idea a try, and I can see why she loved her Pad Thai so much when lightened up with thinly sliced cabbage. It absorbs any flavor you use for a sauce, and the texture is quite pleasing. I don’t follow any particular type of diet, but tend to favor lightening the carbs whenever possible. In this case, it matched well the meatballs in their Oriental ways. I served ours with air-fried butternut squash that was leftover from another meal.

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20Mar2022

PAN-STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH MISO VINAIGRETTE

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Some recipes become part of our routine and the pan-steamed broccoli is my default. Six exact minutes cooking. Six minutes that I use to make a simple dressing as described in the original blog post of years ago (click here). This time, I took the flavor into a Japanese territory, and used miso, vinegar, and ginger. Sesame seeds closed the deal. If you find broccoli flavor too strong, this method might please you, because it masks it quite a bit. If you prefer to taste the real flavor of broccoli, stay with a simpler dressing as previously blogged.

PAN-STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH MISO VINAIGRETTE
(adapted from Ellie Krueger)

1 large head of broccoli florets (1½ pounds)
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp honey
grated fresh ginger, to taste
sesame seeds to garnish

Place the broccoli florets more or less in a single layer inside a saucepan. Add ½ cup water, sprinkle salt all over. Cover and cook over a high heat for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Do not remove the lid during cooking. When the broccoli is done, it will be cooked to crisp-tender. If you prefer it a bit softer, remove it from the heat and allow it to sit, covered, for another minute or two.

While the broccoli is cooking, make the dressing whisking all ingredients (from miso to ginger) vigorously until smooth.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to a serving bowl, toss gently with the dressing, and garnish with sesame seeds. Adjust seasoning if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I share the picture of what the pan will look like once you open it at the end of 6 minutes, because if I don’t you will be shocked and hate me for a few minutes. It will look bad. However, it cleans like a breeze, do not worry about it, the moment you rinse the pan that brown residue goes away. And you are left with perfectly cooked broccoli that can be dressed in any way you like. As I mentioned, this is a recipe I cook all the time, probably once/week. We love it, and it is sooooo simple! The dressing tames the natural funky flavor of broccoli. It will please that family member who twists the nose at this beautiful vegetable.

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7Jan2021

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH APRICOT-MISO GLAZE

Posted in Pork by sallybr

My default method of preparation for pork tenderloin is butterflied and grilled. I suppose default means a single entity, so I will break that rule and include a second option: sous-vide. But sometimes you get into a situation that prevents both from happening. It was very nasty outside so grilling would be masochism. And there was not enough time to sous-vide unless we wanted to have dinner at 9pm. Brazilians do that often, but I totally lost that habit and have no interest in re-visiting it. I had to come up with a plan C, and this was the tasty outcome.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH APRICOT-MISO GLAZE
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
5 tablespoons apricot preserves
1/4 cup red miso
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
2 pork tenderloins
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

Heat oven to 425°F. Coat large rimmed baking sheet with oil spray. Combine preserves, miso, vinegar, orange peel, and garlic in small pot over medium heat. Cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. If you want to make a smooth sauce, use a handheld mixer or small food processor for a few seconds. Reserve.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Place on prepared baking sheet, tucking thin end under to ensure even cooking. Brush with 2 tablespoons apricot glaze; roast 12 to 15 minutes. Turn pork over with tongs and brush with 3 more tablespoons glaze. Continue to roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, 10 minutes longer. If you like your pork cooked a bit more (we do), keep cooking and check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer.

Transfer pork to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add chicken broth to remaining apricot glaze. Bring to simmer and cook until reduced to 2/3 cup sauce, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Slice pork crosswise into 1/2- to 3/4- inch-thick slices and arrange on platter. Spoon sauce over and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: There is really nothing special about the handling of the tenderloin, apart from the delicious glaze. Different brands of apricot preserves have different levels of “chunkiness”, I used one with pretty large pieces of apricot and they did not quite melt into the sauce even with heating. So I opted to smooth things out with my blender. You might get by without that step. I only roasted one tenderloin, and had a bit of sauce leftover. It showed up again a couple of evenings later to coat chicken-cashew meatballs. Perfect marriage. Actually I believe this glaze will go well with pretty much any type of protein, including seafood.