Looking for an alternative to teriyaki chicken? You‘ll love my tender and juicy Miso Chicken. Simply marinate chicken thighs in my savory-and-sweet miso sauce and pan-fry until crispy and golden brown. Serve with steamed rice and miso soup for a delicious lunch or dinner that beats take out every time.
When you need a little break from the classic Chicken Teriyaki, try this Miso Chicken (鶏肉の甘辛味噌焼き). Marinated in a sweet and savory umami-packed miso sauce, this Miso Chicken yields plenty of flavors.
The best part? It’s so easy to pull together and goes well with steamed rice. Because it’s best when you prep ahead, this delicious chicken dish might become a regular on your midweek dinners.
Use of All-Purpose Miso Sauce
This recipe uses my favorite All-Purpose Miso Sauce recipe. A versatile sauce that takes just a short time to make and can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.
From marinade to stir-fry to dressing, you’ll be surprised how this secret sauce can change how the food tastes. I shared the All-Purpose Miso Sauce recipe and tips in details on this post.
Experiment with Different Types of Miso
For this Miso Chicken recipe, I used Hikari Miso® Organic Miso – Red Miso. It is made of 100% USDA Certified Organic rice and soybeans and is additive-free. It has a dark brown color original to Shinshu-style miso. A high volume of rice koji produces its mild taste and smooth texture.
If you’re interested to try it out, you can purchase Hikari Miso® organic miso from most of the Japanese/Asian grocery stores or on Amazon. Hikari Miso® is my favorite brand of miso paste and I’ve been using it for over a decade.
There is also a variety of miso, each with a different flavor you can use for various purposes. When you make All-Purpose Miso Sauce, you can choose any type of miso you like. Each miso has its own unique flavors that you can experiment with and enjoy.
3 Tips for Cooking Miso Chicken
1. Use Skin-on Chicken Thighs
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are a budget-friendly cut, but they are also more flavorful and delicious.
You must sear the thighs skin-side down in a hot frying pan undisturbed until the skin is well-browned and crispy, which typically takes about 7 minutes. Fat (healthy unsaturated fats) will slowly render, and the skin will become browned and crisp – the perfectly cooked chicken thigh.
In the U.S., boneless skin-on thighs are not common. You can purchase bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and remove the bones yourself, or ask the butcher to remove them for you (but you are paying for the total weight with bones).
2. Marinate for 24 hours
For the best result, I suggest marinating the chicken in All-Purpose Miso Sauce for 24 hours. I personally think chicken should not be marinated for more than 24 hours because it can get too salty. I’ve tried marinating for 1 hour and for several hours, but the flavor seems to be still on the lighter side.
3. Remove Miso Sauce COMPLETELY
Miso burns easily and fast, so do your best to remove the Miso Sauce with a paper towel before you cook the chicken. Don’t worry about the flavors. Marinating the chicken for one day gives plenty of flavor to soak into the chicken. If you like to drizzle additional sauce, then combine the All-Purpose Miso Sauce and a little bit of water in the pan to make a quick sauce.
When you are removing the Miso Sauce with a paper towel, thoroughly pat the skin dry. When the skin is moist or wet, it’s more likely to stick to the pan, and therefore won’t crisp up quite as nicely.
The cooking part is fairly straightforward and the key is to leave the chicken undisturbed when you pan fry it in a hot pan.
Serve this Miso Chicken with a side vegetable or over steamed rice, and miso soup, and you’ll be rewarded with a wholesome meal that wins over a takeout anytime. Oh, and the leftovers are perfect to pack up for your bento lunch too.
Other recipes with Miso
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Miso Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 pieces boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
- 5 Tbsp Homemade All-Purpose Miso Sauce (1 Tbsp per thigh; for marinating the chicken; allow 30 minutes to make this sauce from scratch)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for cooking)
For the Drizzling Sauce
- 5 Tbsp Homemade All-Purpose Miso Sauce (1 Tbsp per thigh)
- 5 Tbsp water (1 Tbsp per thigh)
For the Toppings
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 green onion/scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe includes a marinating time of 24 hours. If you haven‘t already made the miso sauce, allow an additional 30 minutes (mostly inactive time) to make my All-Purpose Miso Sauce.
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Marinate the Chicken (24 hours before cooking)
- Using the tip of a knife, prick the skin of 5 pieces boneless, skin-on chicken thighs so the fat renders more easily during cooking. Thoroughly pat the chicken dry and place it in a resealable plastic bag.
- To the bag, add 5 Tbsp Homemade All-Purpose Miso Sauce for marinating the chicken. Remove the air and seal the bag.
- Rub the chicken well through the bag to distribute the miso marinade evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours (any longer, and the chicken will get too salty). Do you plan to freeze this marinated uncooked chicken? See To Store below for how to freeze.
To Cook the Chicken
- Take out the chicken from the bag (here, I‘ll show you how to cook two thighs). Remove as much of the miso marinade as possible with your hands. Discard the marinade. Use a paper towel to remove any remaining miso marinade and pat the chicken completely dry. Set aside.
- Add 1 Tbsp neutral oil to a cold, large frying pan and distribute evenly. Don’t turn on the heat yet.
- Place the chicken skin-side down in the cold pan. Leave space between the chicken pieces so they don‘t steam; do not overcrowd the pan.
- Turn on the heat to medium low or medium. Slowly cook the chicken skin so the fat renders. DO NOT TOUCH the chicken pieces for the next 7 minutes, except to occasionally press down on them with a spatula. Do not cover with a lid; you can use a mesh splatter guard to avoid oil splatter, if desired.
- After 7 minutes, check if the skin is nicely browned and the meat is opaque around the edges. If not, continue cooking a bit longer. Once browned, flip the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes to brown the other side. While the chicken is cooking, use a paper towel to wipe any rendered fat from the pan. Continue to press down occasionally to help sear the meat‘s surface.
- Once both sides are nicely browned, check that the chicken is done cooking. The internal temperature should register 165ºF (74ºC). Remove from the pan and place the chicken on a cutting board until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, make the drizzling sauce.
To Make the Drizzling Sauce
- Use a paper towel to quickly wipe off the fat and oil in the frying pan. Then, add 5 Tbsp Homemade All-Purpose Miso Sauce and 5 Tbsp water for the drizzling sauce and stir to combine. (Here, I used 2 Tbsp miso sauce and 2 Tbsp water since I‘m cooking just two thighs.) Bring the sauce to a simmer over low heat; once thickened, turn off the heat.
To Serve
- Cut the chicken into ½-inch strips (a convenient size for eating with chopsticks). Serve on a plate or over steamed rice (as shown) and drizzle the sauce on top.
- Sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds and 1 green onion/scallion (chopped) on top. Serve warm.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month. You can also freeze the marinated uncooked chicken for 2–3 weeks. Before freezing, be sure to remove the miso marinade completely so the chicken doesn‘t get too salty.
Hi Nami, is this Miso Chicken dish also known as Tori Misoyaki?
Also, is this considered a Donburi dish? And, if so, would it be called Tori Misoyakidon?
Hello, Stephen. Thank you for reading Nami’s post.
Yes. This dish is also known as Tori Misoyaki or Troi Misoyakidon (when served over rice).
Tori refers to chicken, while Misoyaki refers to food cooked with Miso. We hope this helps!