Superfoods that are popular are often high in carbs, even if they are healthy and…
soy-glazed chicken
It’s a gorgeous spring week in New York City, the windows are wide open, and before I find it impossible to resist the siren call of a full shift to picnic–summer-beach-fresh-everything mode (with some ice cream/pie/cookie breaks, naturally) I wanted to tell you about one last easy weeknight pandemic-era favorite: a soy sauce-basted chicken that my family would be happy if I made once a week forever.
I first made this in the early months, when all the restaurants were closed and we missed takeout*. I’ve made it almost monthly since then because it’s the fastest, easiest non-grilling way for me to turn a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts into a meal that everyone actually finishes. Browning the chicken well gives it a slightly crisp edge, and reducing a mixture of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar around it while the chicken finishes cooking gives it a lacquered effect.
I turn it into dinner by making plain white or brown rice in the rice cooker**. If we have any broccoli, I’ll steam or roast it. And then I make a quick salad with a thinly sliced or julienned fresh vegetable, whatever we’ve got that’s crunchy, such as cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, asparagus, or in this week’s case, snow peas and sugar snaps. A soak in ice water really perks up snow peas, sugar snaps, and carrots if yours have also gotten neglected in the produce drawer. Toss with thinly-sliced scallion, salt, pepper, white rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil to taste and that’s it, a triumphant weeknight meal that I hope makes it into your rotation too.
*Origin note: Although I started making this in a pandemic pinch with leftover dipping sauce I use for dumplings, this style of chicken is a distant relative to the Cantonese dish called see yao gai or soy sauce chicken. Usually it’s a whole chicken braised in soy sauce with star anise, bay leaves, and Shaoxing rice wine in addition to the ingredients below, then chopped and served with vegetables and rice or noodles. It’s amazing, and a quintessential Chinatown favorite/staple worth seeking out.
** I’ve had this one for eight years and it was worth every penny, and not only because it plays twinkle-twinkle when it starts
Previously
6 months ago: Bialy Babka and Potato and Leek Gratin
1 year ago: Simple, Essential Bolognese
2 years ago: Austrian Torn, Fluffy Pancake
3 years ago: Chilaquiles Brunch Casserole
4 years ago: Rhubarb Upside-Down Spice Cake
5 years ago: Perfect Garlic Bread, Shaved Asparagus Frittata and Palm Springs Date Shake
6 years ago: Potato Scallion and Kale Cakes, Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Crispy Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic
7 years ago: Blue Sky Bran Muffins and Fresh Spinach Pasta
8 years ago: Spring Vegetable Potstickers and Essential Raised Waffles
9 years ago: Bacon, Egg and Leek Risotto
10 years ago: Sour Cream Cornbread with Aleppo and Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon
11 years ago: Radicchio, Apple, and Pear Salad, New York Cheesecake and Shakshuka
12 years ago: Black Bread and Ranch Rugelach
13 years ago: Chocolate Walnut Cookies + More Flourless Dessert, Almond Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
14 years ago: Corniest Corn Muffins and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Soy-Glazed Chicken
If using chicken breast cutlets, I often pound or slice them thinner so that they cook faster. I really love using a mixture of (unseasoned) rice vinegar and black vinegar (here are good explainers on both kinds) but use whatever you have. The glaze will be lighter in color with only rice vinegar. To ensure this dish is gluten-free for anyone who needs it to be, check that your tamari or soy sauce is labeled as such.
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast cutlets
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons tamari, or light or low-sodium soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar or 2 tablespoons black vinegar and 2 tablespoons rice (see Note)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (I use dark)
- Toasted sesame seeds and/or a thinly-sliced scallion to finish
Pat your chicken dry on a plate and season it on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat large frying pan to medium high. Add a couple tablespoons of oil and let it get warm. Once hot, brown the chicken well on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes total; it’s not going to fully cook through right now, and that’s fine. Transfer it back a plate to rest. Add more oil to the pan, if needed. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, vinegar(s), and sugar and stir to scrape up anything stuck in the pan. Bring sauce ingredients to a simmer, 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and cook in the sauce, turning once or twice, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. The sauce will reduce as the chicken cooks and get a bit syrupy. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and pour the sauce remaining in the pan over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or scallion and eat right away, preferably with some chili crisp.
Related Posts
