The other day I had a thought, "what if you combine miso and curry into one sauce?" It sounded a little crazy but I was curious enough to try it. Would one flavor be more dominant than the other? Would they just clash altogether? Or would I have discovered something truly wonderful? This roasted golden chicken with miso curry was the result of my curiosity and let me tell you, it was something truly wonderful indeed!
Recipe
Roasted Golden Chicken with Miso Curry
Ingredients
Roasted golden chicken
- 2 lb chicken thighs on the bone
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon turmeric ground
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon coriander ground
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
Miso Curry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup minced shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 stalk lemongrass bruised
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry paste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- juice of ½ lime
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh Thai basil
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Combine seasonings for chicken including cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. Drizzle olive oil on chicken and sprinkle both sides with seasoning mix. Place chicken on a baking sheet and put in the oven. Preheat to 425 degrees F. When oven comes to temperature, set timer for 20-25 minutes. Cook until chicken juices run clear and the skin is golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute chopped shallots and garlic for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add bruised lemongrass stalk, white miso, and yellow curry paste, and saute another minute. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Season the sauce with fish sauce and brown sugar. Simmer for another 1 minute. Finish with a squeeze of lime.
- Pour sauce onto serving platter and place chicken on top. Garnish with fresh cilantro and Thai basil. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Okay, let's step back for a second and look at the two flavorful components of this roasted golden chicken with miso curry. Miso is a fermented soybean paste that tastes mild with a little sweetness, saltiness, and umami. There are different types of miso-based on how long the beans have been fermented. For this recipe, I chose white miso, the milder variation.
There are also different types of curry pastes but I thought a yellow curry would compliment white miso the best. Yellow curry pastes are typically made of chilies, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and spices. It tastes somewhat sweet with just a hint of spice. The two pastes have similar flavor profiles which lead me to believe that they would be a great match.
Let's start making the dish. First, season the chicken with a blend of spices. We're going to roast the chicken but we're switching up the technique. Put the chicken in a cold oven and then turn it on to 425 degrees F. Once the oven reaches the temperature, set the timer for 20-25 minutes.
Why are we cooking the chicken this way? I noticed that when I cook or reheat items in my cold toaster oven and then set it to the temperature, it heats up much more evenly. While the temperature is slowly increasing, it slowly cooks the chicken. When you stick a cold chicken in a hot oven, the heat hits the outside first. By using the cold oven method, the temperature is slowly rising so the temperature of the chicken slowly rises along with it. The result is an incredibly juicy chicken.
Now for the sauce. Instead of just mixing miso paste with yellow curry, we're going to add aromatics that compliment both to liven up the sauce. Shallots, garlic, lemongrass, coconut milk, and fish sauce all work together with both pastes to create a cohesive Thai-influenced sauce.
Simmer the ingredients until slightly thickened and finish with a hit of acid from the lime juice. Plate the roasted chicken with the sauce and top it off with plenty of fresh cilantro and basil. Dinner is ready!
If you ask me, neither the miso nor the yellow curry stood out more than another. Instead, the two married together to create something new, something different. Give this dish a try and let me know what you think!
For more chicken inspiration check out this Thai chicken karaage recipe!
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