For my 38th birthday, I was dying for some good seafood. We found this small-but-adorable restaurant in downtown Georgetown, TX called Georgie’s. They sat us at a 2-person high top on a platform right in the window- what I consider the best seat in the house, and the experience began. We pored over the small, but enticing, menu trying to decide because everything sounded so darn good! I landed on the Miso Roasted Chilean Sea Bass and wowwwww am I glad I did! The clean umami flavors and the perfect cook on the bass was just truly *chef’s kiss.* I knew I had to find a way to replicate the recipe and to bring it to land since I neither live in Chile nor does my bank account look like it belongs to Warren Buffet.
Enter the taste test. I cook a lot of Asian dishes, so I have pretty much every sauce on hand, but self-restraint is not my strongest quality. I knew I needed to edit and couldn’t just throw everything in the pantry in a marinade and expect deliciousness. I did some Googling and some AI’ing and started to see the right flavor combination come clear. This marinade is the perfect blend of salty, umami, and a little fishy, but not funky. The cooking sake (or the substitutes outlined in the notes of the recipe) cut the fishy flavor you get from miso into a nice mild background note.
I like to serve mine atop a bed of cheesy orzo sitting in a lemongrass-turmeric-ginger broth topped with steamed green beans. The orzo soaks up the extra sauce that drips from the chicken which melds beautifully with the broth. Try it with mashed potatoes, rice, cauliflower mash, or any other starch/starch substitute that can really soak up all the goodness!
Pan Seared Miso Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Thighs boneless, with skin on
- 1/3 C Miso Paste
- 1/3 C Cooking Sake aka Ryorishu. see notes for substitutes
- 1/3 C Mirin see notes for rice vinegar substitute
- 1/4 C Dark Brown Sugar can substitute with light brown sugar
- 3 T Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 T Avocado Oil or cooking oil of choice
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine miso paste, cooking sake, mirin, brown sugar, and soy sauce
- Whisk until combined
- Place chicken thighs in a zip top bag and pour mixture over chicken, reserving about 1/4 C for basting
- Marinate for at least 30 minutes, with 4+ hours being preferred (up to overnight)
- Heat oil in a sturdy pan over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering
- Remove chicken from marinade and place skin side down in the pan (discard marinade*)
- Sear for 5-7 minutes depending on size. Attempt to flip. If the skin does not easily release from the pan, continue cooking until the skin releases.
- Cook for another 5-7 minutes on the other side
- Cover and remove from heat allowing the temperature to rise to 160℉ when a meat thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh
- Once temperature reaches 160℉, baste each thigh with the reserved mixture. Re-cover and let rest until temperature reached 165℉.
Notes
- Mirin is the sweeter and salter cousin of rice wine vinegar. If you only have rice wine vinegar on hand, you can substitute the mirin with 5 Tbsp rice wine vinegar + 5 tsp white sugar.
- Never baste your chicken with the used marinade as you do not cook it long enough to cook out any bacteria. If you want to use the remaining marinade, pour it into a pot and bring it to a boil for approximately 5 minutes before using. Stir frequently to prevent the sugars from burning. Note that the liquid will reduce some in this time.
- Cooking sake is my favorite to use as its alcohol content is low enough that it does not need to be cooked out, plus it is a great finishing touch on many dishes, lending itself to be a versatile pantry staple! You can also substitute this with dry sherry, Chinese cooking wine, or a dry white wine.
- Low sodium soy sauce is recommended due to the saltier flavors brought on by the miso paste and mirin