Teriyaki chicken with crispy shallots

Amongst my most favourite cuisines would be Japanese.  I used to work with a couple of Japanese chefs and found myself constantly in awe of the precision and calm with which they would cook (and the staff meals that they would create).  I remember once someone telling me that in Japan you have to practise your knife skills for a year before you are allowed to cut sashimi.  There is probably no real law or code around this but it makes a great story and somewhat demonstrated to me the gravity with which cuisine is taken.  

I was recently visiting a good friend in Dunedin and we decided to have a go at making a less refined version of an 'ol student days favourite of mine that I used to pick up from Jizo, a great Japanese joint in the city.  It is very simple, any greens will do (and you can leave out some of the other ingredients without spoiling it). Feel free to ask for substitution suggestions if you need to!

Teriyaki chicken with crispy shallots

Serves 4

You'll need:

Teriyaki sauce
⅓ cup tamari (or soy sauce if you don't have this)
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey, melted
1 tablespoon garlic (about 3-4 cloves), minced
1 tablespoon ginger (about 2” ginger), grated
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon arrowroot (you can use cornflour if you prefer)
4 chicken thighs (or more if you are hungry)

Crispy shallots
1 shallot, finely sliced
sesame oil (for frying)

Extras
2 cups black rice, cooked as per packet instructions
1/4 cucumber, finely sliced
3-4 baby bok choy, washed and sliced lengthways
2 spring onions, finely sliced (we cut ours lengthways into fine strips and put in cold water so they went nice and curly- demo here)
small handful of sesame seeds

To make:

Teriyaki sauce (prep)
Mix marinade ingredients into a bowl, add chicken, cover, and let sit for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Crispy Shallots (optional fun extra)

1. Heat 1cm sesame oil in a small frypan. The oil needs to be about 180°C - hot enough so that when you add in a shallot slice it sizzles
2. Add the rest of the shallots and stir until light golden then remove immediately from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and place them onto a paper towel to stop the cooking process. Keep the frypan with oil for your chicken.
3. Let cool - these will become more crispy.

Chicken

1. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels (reserve marinade).
2. Place chicken in the fry pan left over from the shallots presentation side down and fry until cooked, approximately 7 minutes a side. *
3. Season to taste and let rest before cutting.

Bok Choy

1. Place bok choy in a saucepan or glass bowl (something with a lid)
2. Boil a kettle of water and pour over bok choy
3. Cover and leave for 5 minutes.

 

To finish:

1. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and let simmer until it thickens, about 4-5 minutes. 
2. Pour over sliced chicken, serve with greens and black rice (or grain of your choice) and garnish with sesame seeds and crispy shallots 

* The best way to tell if meat is cooked according to the chef school I went to is by touch (some chefs use utensils instead of their hands though).  When meat cooks, the protein coagulates and becomes firm to the touch.  When chicken is cooked, it has a lot more 'bounce'.  After a few trials you will become familiar with how firm an adequately cooked piece of chicken should be and you won't have to slice through every piece that you cook. (Here is a useful article on how this works for different meat temperatures).