This one-pot chicken dinner by Kentucky chef Edward Lee blends a staple of Southern cooking — fried chicken — with two deliciously savory Asian ingredients, salty miso and a half pound of shiitake mushrooms. Together they produce a chicken that is tender and wildly flavorful with a thick sauce that is good enough to eat by the spoonful.
Though the recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, we also tested it with boneless, skinless thighs and found it just as delicious.
Miso-Smothered Chicken
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (30 minutes active). Servings: 4
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup bourbon
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark miso
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, thinly sliced
Cooked rice, to serve
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cayenne and garlic powder. Add the chicken and toss well to coat evenly.
In a medium Dutch oven over medium, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate. Set aside.