Salad of Japanese griddled thighs with edamame, sugar snaps and miso dressing
Quite addictive. You can get fresh podded edamame beans in supermarkets now as well as frozen. No need to cook the sugar snaps, by the way; they are gorgeously crunchy and sweet in their raw state. I like the contrast here: hot chicken, cool salad.
The wakame brings a whiff of the seaside, which I love with miso. It reminds me of the Irish seaweed – dulse – that I grew up with. It’s entirely optional. I use it dry, crumbled, rather than soaking it.
Ingrediënten
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 75 ml 2½fl oz soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sake or dry sherry
- 1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
- 4 cm 1½in root ginger, grated
- ¼ –½ tsp chilli flakes to taste
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 6 small skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1¼ tbsp white miso paste
- 2 tsp pickled ginger shredded, plus 2½ tbsp vinegar from the jar, or to taste
- 2½ tbsp groundnut oil
- ¼ tsp honey or to taste
- 2 cm ¾in root ginger, grated
- 1 garlic clove grated
FOR THE BEAN SALAD
- 150 g 5½oz edamame beans
- 115 g 4oz sugar snaps
- 8 radishes mixed colours if possible, finely sliced
- 15 g ½oz micro leaves (such as pea shoots, or even little sprigs of watercress)
- 10 g ¼oz wakame, crumbled (optional)
Instructies
- Mix together the soy sauce, sake, sugar, ginger, chilli and garlic.
- Put the chicken into it, turning to coat.
- Cover loosely with cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to two hours.
- Bring it to room temperature before cooking.
- Whisk the ingredients for the dressing with 1 tbsp of water, taste for seasoning and sweet-sour balance and set aside.
- Cook the edamame beans in boiling water for two minutes, then drain and run cold water through them.
- Slice the sugar snaps into strips lengthways (this looks lovely, you can see the little peas inside peeking out).
- Put these in a broad shallow bowl with the radishes.
- Lift the chicken out of the marinade, shaking off the excess, and heat a griddle pan.
- Cook the chicken over a medium heat, turning it frequently, until it is cooked through (this will take about eight minutes).
- Cut across the thighs into broad strips.
- Add the leaves to the salad with the wakame (if using) and toss with most of the dressing.
- Put the chicken on top and drizzle on the rest of the dressing.
- Scatter with sesame seeds and serve.
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