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.
This is delicious! The miso smells great and the skin browns so nicely. Just wondering if we can pop this into the oven instead? So that I can use the stove top for other dishes. Thanks!
Hi Jace! It might be a bit difficult to bake without burning when it comes to miso (miso burns easily). You can use oven, if you like. Make sure to remove the miso before putting in the oven. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Can I use boneless chicken breast? My family don’t care for chicken thighs.
Although, you have given many options for the mirin and sake, can you please post which ones you personally use, like you did with the miso.
Thanks so much
Sila
Hi Sila! You can use chicken breast. 🙂
Sake: I’ve been using one of these 3 sake brands (https://www.justonecookbook.com/sake/) and buy whenever on sale ($5-8). Since I work with Takara Sake, I always have Shochikubai on hand and I love using it.
Mirin: For a really delicate Japanese recipe, I use Fukuraijun Hon Mirin but regular recipes I use Takara Mirin.
Hope that helps!
Hi Nami, what is the really delicate Japanese recipes that you mean here, so that you use Fukuraijun Hon mirin ?
Also what regular recipes ? I’m wondering what makes the recipe “really delicate”..
Hmmm something like Tamagoyaki or when making marinated ikura with soy sauce (I’m currently doing it, so this came to my mind)… Delicate as in we want to make sure the food’s original flavor stands out, and mirin just adds nice touch of umami. In another word, when we can taste the mirin or effect of mirin? Hope I’m making sense.
Regular recipes meant all others – like sauces, seasoning food, the flavor of mirin doesn’t matter that much.
I can’t access the Miso Chicken recipe anymore – just comments. Ready to cook but no recipe!
Hi Rodger! I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. We’re experiencing some problems and trying to figure out what’s causing. I’ll send you the recipe via email.
[…] 2. Miso Chicken […]
Hello Nami, I was wondering if you can grill the chicken on the barbeque rather than pan-frying it. Have you ever tried it? Please let me know.
Hi Alicia! You can, but the only problem is that miso burns really fast. So, you have to make sure that the heat source is far and cook slowly until the chicken is cooked through. Then give some grill mark at the end. 🙂
Hi, Nami! Thanks so much for this blog. I stumbled across it the other day and already gave this miso chicken a go. It was a big hit with my family! I thank you for it. So good to have found your blog – your recipes are so appertizing and yet not too complicated. I’m also Japanese (married to a westerner) and love Japanese food but I do have some food allergy – to be specific with cane sugar. I avoid to use any sugar in my cooking and substitute it with Palm sugar (agave is also a good substitute but not too keen on the taste). If you happened to know any other sugar substitutes, please share! I would be super grateful! Em
Hi Em! I’m happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe. I’m not familiar with sugar substitute so I can’t give a good recommendation. 🙁 Sorry…
Recipe is very good! I used white miso and cooked skin-on thighs in instant pot then seared on pan to get the color. It’s very juicy and the saltiness is perfect without the glaze.
Hi Julia! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! xoxo
[…] Miso Chicken […]
Hi Nami! I love his recipe so much but I have a question about the chicken. I struggle to find boneless skin on chicken thighs in my area and I was wondering if you’ve tried skinless instead? I want to try it but I’m not sure if it’ll come out the same. Thanks!
Hi Claire! That’s okay, if you can’t get the skin on. You can also ask the butcher to remove the bone out of skin-on, bone-in chicken too (but they will weigh including bones). 🙂 Chicken skin has flavors, and it’s nice to give some char on it (hard to do so if you don’t have the skin). But it will be okay either way! 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
I made this tonight after letting the chicken marinate 24 hours and it’s delicious. Honestly I love all of your recipes. I only use yours in our home. Thank you so much for all your hard work on this!
Hi Julie! Aww thank you for your kind words! It means so much to me!! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Hi Nami, thank you for sharing the recipes. I was looking at the cookware you used and noticed you used majority stainless steel cookware. I am looking to buy some new cookware. I am choosing from ceramic vs stainless steel. I am wondering if you could please share your experiences and why you prefer the stainless steel vs ceramic? Because I cooked a lot of stir fry food and worried that the stainless steel cookware will easily become sticky. Thank you very much!
Hi Amy! I always like All-Clad because of its performance. Before that, I used the Calphalon pot set. When I changed a few pots to All-Clad, I definitely noticed the quality difference and slowly over the years, I changed all my pots to All-Clad.
Have you watched this documentary? One of the readers suggested watching this film. Since then, I try to use less non-stick pans. Ceramic pans have some different coating but I am not sure about safety 100%. So in general, I try to use cast iron pans and stainless steel cookware. It’s easy to clean and maintain too. Hope this helps!
Thank you, Nami! Could you please share how you clean the stainless steel cookware? Any tips on what should be paying attention to while cooking to prevent sticking/burning? Thank you very much!
Hi Amy! I usually clean after I used, with soap and sponge/brush. Then put it in my dishwasher. A lot of you think my pots are spotless, but I really don’t do anything special… 😀 Only when it has some spots, I use Bar Keepers Friend. 🙂
To prevent from sticking/burning… 1) Make sure to heat the pot and add oil. Oil should move smoothly when it’s coated on the bottom of the pot. If oil doesn’t run smoothly, then the oil is not heated hot enough for food to go into the pot. 2) When the food goes in, make sure NOT TO TOUCH the food and let it cook on the bottom until it releases naturally. When the bottom of the food is nicely brown, the food releases itself, so you can easily flip. While it’s still being cooked and you try to agitate, the food gets “stuck”. So don’t use high heat and let it cook. You will know it when you successfully flip the food. 🙂
Thank you so much, Nami! Really appreciated your advice.
[…] Miso Chicken […]
[…] Miso Chicken 鶏肉の甘辛味噌焼き […]
Hi Nami,
I’ve got one more question regarding miso. May I ask if the Hikari mild sodium miso a white miso? Is it the same as the regular Hikari white miso but with less sodium? Because I am unsure which one to take. I’m afraid that the mild sodium one is not a white type miso.
Hi Ming! I think I’m not sure as the package didn’t say exactly “white miso”, but it’s similar light yellow miso as white miso. I would take they are similar miso.
Can I use awase miso instead? Will the taste be different?
Hi Ming! Sure! Each type of miso gives different flavors. So have fun experimenting! 🙂
How would we modify this if I wanted to bake the chicken instead of pan fry?
Hi Michelle! You can bake the chicken but make sure to remove the miso COMPLETELY. Even with a little bit of miso left, the chicken will get burn. 🙂
Hi!
First if all, I love your recipes!
What type of frying pan do you use to fry the miso chicken thighs?
Thank yo I,
Kathy B.
Hi Kathleen! Thank you for your kind words. I use this frying pan in this recipe. https://amzn.to/2KsOV6e
All my cooking tools can be found here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/kitchen-tools/