Love a good, easy appetizer recipe? Sweet and savory with a good douse of spice, these tulip shaped chicken drumettes with a spicy miso dipping sauce are a party favorite.
My husband and I were talking what chicken drumettes recipe I can make for our next dinner since our children love drumettes. Then he said he really misses these Spicy Miso Chicken from Norikonoko, a mom and pop Japanese diner in Berkeley, California.
Watch How To Make Spicy Miso Chicken スパイシー味噌チキンの作り方
Easy baked chicken appetizer recipe. Tulip shaped chicken drumettes with a spicy miso dipping sauce.
I have been to the restaurant once when I stayed in Berkeley for a summer during high school to study English. My host family took me there when I was missing Japanese food. According to my husband, he and his friends treated this Japanese diner like their second kitchen back in college.
As I had never tasted this miso chicken that he loved, I had to rely on his description of the taste to recreate the recipe. It’s been a while since my husband tried the miso chicken at the restaurant too, so let’s say I made this recipe inspired by the restaurant’s version. 🙂
The restaurant makes the spicy miso chicken drumettes into “tulip” shape. This is pretty simple to do (see my picture/video), and it’s easy to eat because half of the meat already came off the bone.
The spicy sauce uses red miso, which has a bolder flavor than white miso or awase miso (red & white mixed miso). You can use white or awase miso, but the sauce will be quite different from the intended flavor.
Well, according to my husband, these chicken drumettes are pretty close to what they serve at Norikonoko. You can imagine his happy face when he gave these drumettes a try. I reduced the amount of Sriracha sauce for my children’s portion, so they really enjoyed this quick appetizer as well. If you love spicy food, feel free to add more Sriracha sauce. Enjoy these Spicy Miso Chicken as finger food at a party, or make it the main course, along with a side of rice and refreshing Asian coleslaw.
Thank you so much for reading and enjoy the rest of your week!
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Spicy Miso Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.2 lb chicken drumettes (17 pieces; You can use drumsticks but take more time to marinade and cook)
- ½ Tbsp neutral oil (or cooking spray)
Seasonings:
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Using kitchen shears, cut and remove the meat from the tip of the bone.
- And when you remove the meat halfway, peel it back so that it forms a “tulip” shape.
- Mix sake, grated ginger, and minced garlic in a small bowl.
- Put the chicken and seasonings in a large resealable plastic bag and rub the chicken from outside the bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Set the oven broiler to high (550ºF/288 ºC) for 5 minutes before cooking. Line the broiler pan with aluminum foil on the bottom (for easy cleanup) and grease the rack with cooking spray. Broiler setting: Low (450ºF/232ºC), Medium (500ºF/260ºC), and High (550ºF/288ºC). I usually use medium (6" away) or high (8" away).
- Place the baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven, about 8" (20 cm) away from the heating element. Cook for 9-10 minutes, until nicely brown and crispy, and then flip the chicken to cook the other side (skin side) for another 9-10 minutes. Watch the chicken carefully not to burn; if your oven is small/strong, try broiling at medium (500ºF/260ºC) or lower the rack.
- If you don't have a broiler, bake at 425-450ºF (200-230ºC) for 45 minutes. Monitor the cooking time – the chicken is cooked through when internal temp is 165 ºF 74ºC).
- Meanwhile make spicy miso sauce. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix all together. You can apply the sauce when the chicken is done, or you can put the sauce in a small dish and serve with the chicken.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days and in the freezer for a month.
Do you think it would be ok to not do the fancy tulip shape? I’m a busy mom of three and bet it would taste just as good but I’d love verification!
Hi Brenda! Of course! We understand the situation as we are moms too.😊
Yes. You can make this without shaping it into a tulip shape. Please feel free to adjust the baking time as need it.
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!🤗
Is there a substitute for the alcohol in the sauce to make it a bit more kid-friendly?
Hi Cara! I assume you’re talking about 2 Tbsp mirin in the sauce? You can either slather the chicken with the sauce toward the end of cooking (so alcohol will be evaporated during cooking) OR change to sugar (maybe 1 Tbsp to start?). Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you Nami for such a yummy recipe. We went to a BBQ this last weekend so I tried this on a batch of 3kg’s of chicken & we had vegetarians there so i thought I’d try it with Tofu too! As we were going to a BBQ I didn’t want to take extra containers and have people getting dipping sauce on them, so I made extra sauce and brushed the chicken and tofu as they were grilling. The result was a hit —- everyone wanted the recipe! You know what??? I loved the Tofu more! Thank you once again. Keep them rolling! If I can find a photograph I’ll post it for you. 🙂
Hi Lorna! I’m so happy to hear this dish was a hit! Thank you so much for your feedback! You know, tofu and miso work REALLY well…. I’m happy everyone enjoyed this dish. 🙂
Can these be made ahead? Are they good served cold or should they always been served hot?
Hi Carol! Yes, you can. I’d even put it in bento box. However, I may not be the right person to answer as I’m used to eating bento at room temeprature (that’s how it is in Japan). For your guests, I assume it’s nice to serve hot/warm. At least cover in aluminum foil and keep it warm in the oven? 🙂
Hi Carol. We had some left over from our BBQ, they are just as delicious cold! Just make sure that they have about 5 mins out the fridge before eating though as sometimes if the chicken is too cold it can cause an upset tum!
Thanks so much for your feedback Lorna! 🙂
We’ve been to Norikonoko in Berkeley to sample their ramen and it was good.
Yes, it’s a very small place run by an elderly couple, but was impressed when I overheard the “mom owner” say to the young Japanese students (who had just dined at her restaurant attending UCB ) to stay healthy and be focused with their goals. She is like a mom away from home.
I look forward to trying your recipe soon.
Mae, I hope to visit the restaurant again. Aww how nice. It’s wonderful to have a restaurant (owner) who cares about customers health and well being. My husband ate there often when he was in UCB too. There must be so many people treating the restaurant as their home. 🙂 I’ll try the ramen next time. Thank you for the comment!