Dashi-Braised Chicken Thighs
From time to time, my family sits down to a dinner of these chicken thighs, slowly braised in dashi, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds and served with bowls of steamed rice and vegetables. Chicken thighs benefit from the long, slow process of braising that cooks them to a nearly impossible tenderness, making their meat fall off the bone.
Rather than using chicken stock or broth, I favor using dashi, which like all broths and stocks, makes a wonderful braising liquid, and its umami-rich flavor is well complemented by sesame seeds, ginger, and garlic.
Recipe from Broth & Stock from the Nourished Kitchen, by Jennifer McGruther.
Dashi-Braised Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 cups dashi (recipe)
- 1 pound shiitakes, stems reserved and caps sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 (1-inch) knob ginger
- 6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 6 green onions, white, light green, and dark green parts, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Steamed rice, for serving
Instructions
Warm the dashi in a small saucepan over medium heat. Drop the shiitake stems into the saucepan so that they impart their flavor to the broth as it heats.
Melt the coconut oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer in the skillet, drop in the garlic and ginger, sautéing them together until they release their aroma, about 3 minutes. Arrange the chicken in the skillet and brown each piece in the hot fat, about 5 minutes per side.
Using a pair of tongs, remove each piece of chicken from the pan and set it on a plate. Stir in the sliced shiitake caps and sauté them until cooked through and fragrant, about 8 minutes.
Turn down the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan. Pour in the dashi and mirin. Cover the pan and simmer the ingredients together for 10 minutes, then remove the cover, turn the heat up to medium-high, and continue braising the chicken until cooked through and tender, a further 10 to 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle the cooked chicken and mushrooms with the sliced onions and sesame seeds.
Serve warm in bowls over steamed rice.
Reprinted with permission from Broth and Stock from the Nourished Kitchen, by Jennifer McGruther. Copyright 2016, published by Ten Speed Press, and imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Photography copyright 2016 by Jennifer McGruther.
