One of my favorite parts about cooking is using new ingredients and one ingredient that seems to be popping up often in the foodie world is miso paste. I first saw it appear on a list for “Top Products to buy at Trader Joe’s.”
Without any idea of what to do with miso paste, I promptly went to TJ’s in search of miso paste. Sadly, I was informed that my store had stopped stocking the product because it wasn’t being purchased.
Well, duh, I thought, it’s because no one knows what to do with it!
I continued my miso paste search and was able to find white miso paste at Whole Foods, which I promptly purchased in haste with the intent on cooking something with it immediately.
Except, I didn’t.
Instead, it sat untouched in my fridge for weeks. Some how it got pushed to the back and hidden amongst all my other fridge goodies. When I rediscovered it, a few weeks later, it was like finding a $20 bill in the laundry! It was like a secret little present waiting for me to unwrap its deliciousness!
In case you’re new to miso, here’s the cliff notes version:
- Miso is a Japanese based ingredient made from fermented soybeans mixed with salt.
- Adding miso to your food brings about an umami flavor and makes the food taste more savory.
- It comes in three varieties – white, yellow and red
- White: Short fermentation time with a mild to sweet-salty flavor. Typically used for vinaigrettes, light sauces and sometimes subbed for dairy products.
- Yellow: Fermented a bit longer than white miso. It may appear lightly yellow or brown in color. It’s best for soups, glazes, or to flavor vegetables in place of butter.
- Red: Longest fermentation time with a robust meaty-salty flavor. It often leaves ingredients colored with a red, rusty color. It’s strong in flavor and is often used as a marinade.
To me, miso looks like a really thick, grainy hummus. If you’ve ever made hummus from scratch and didn’t puree the beans enough or add enough oil to smooth it out, that’s the look, texture and consistency of miso.
I debated for a bit on how to use my miso. It’s debut in my kitchen had to be mind blowing or else there was a risk of me never wanting to use it again.
I contemplated using it as a salad dressing atop an Asian inspired, cabbage salad. As a salty buttery glaze for asparagus or bok choy. And as the star of a dish for a main entree. I finally settled on using it as a marinade that would eventually turn into a salty pan sauce.
Inspired by miso’s Japanese roots, I chose to create my marinade & pan sauce with traditional Asian flavors — garlic, ginger, onion, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili-garlic sauce for spice. I believe all of these mixed together is the perfect base for any Asian inspired recipe.
I also chose to use skinless, boneless chicken thighs in place of regular chicken breast because I wanted a more flavorful, hearty meat to play off the sweet-salty flavor of the white miso. Choosing skinless and boneless made it a bit healthier and cut down on the cooking time since I planned to cook them on the stovetop. I definitely think chicken breast can be substituted in this recipe but the chicken may take on too much of the marinade flavor rather than complimenting it in the way that the chicken thighs do.
Since this recipe also uses the sauce as a marinade, it’s best to plan a head for this meal and make the marinade the night before or in the morning so the meat has a bit of time to tenderize and take on flavor.
To round out this meal, you can serve the chicken atop a cooked grain like quinoa or brown rice — adding a spoonful of the pan sauce for flavor. We chose to enjoy the miso chicken with a side of spicy, roasted broccoli, a delicious, quick recipe I plan to share soon!
If you choose to venture into the world of miso, this is a great, easy, first recipe to start out with!
Have you used miso before? Was it the white, yellow or red variety?
What’s your favorite miso recipe? I’d love to try others!
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- ¼ chopped, white or yellow onion
- 2 large cloves of garlic, or 3-4 small to medium cloves
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, separated
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, optional
- 1 lime, optional
- Place chicken thighs in a leak-proof container and set aside.
- In a food processor combine soy sauce, miso, onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Once fully blended, spoon over the chicken thighs until completely covered.
- Let marinade in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours, or best, overnight
- When ready to cook, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the remaining olive oil.
- When hot, add the chicken thighs and cook for 3-5 minutes per side.
- While the chicken browns, whisk together the cornstarch and water to be used as a thickener for the pan sauce.
- Once the chicken has browned on both sides, but not fully cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the marinade to the hot skillet and whisk in the vegetable broth, scrapping the browned chicken pieces from the bottom of the pan.
- Continue whisking the sauce until it comes to a low boil.
- Add in the water and cornstarch mixture to thicken slightly and whisk continuously until all lumps are dissolved.
- Now return the chicken to the hot skillet and finish cooking until done all the way through.
- Remove chicken from pan for serving.
- Spoon a bit of pan sauce over each chicken thigh, top with a bit of chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.