Steamed Chicken and Shiitakes with Soy-Sake Sauce

Ingrédients

¼ cup sake

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce

1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and patted dry

Kosher salt

6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced ¼ inch thick

3 radishes, halved and thinly sliced

3 scallions, thinly sliced on diagonal

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the sake, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, ginger and chili-garlic sauce. Set aside ⅓ cup in a small bowl. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt, then toss in the bowl with the remaining sake-soy mixture. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a covered large Dutch oven over medium-high, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer. Arrange the mushrooms in an even layer in a steamer basket, then set the chicken thighs in an even layer over them. Turn off the heat under the pot, then set the basket in it. Cover and return to a simmer over medium and cook until the thickest part of the chicken registers 170°F and a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken meets no resistance, 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer the chicken and mushrooms to a serving platter. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the steaming liquid into the reserved sake-soy mixture. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the mixture over the chicken and mushrooms, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the chicken crosswise into ¼-inch slices and return to the platter. Sprinkle with the radishes and scallions and serve with the remaining sauce.

Notes

Don’t steam the chicken over high heat. Gentle steaming over medium heat keeps the meat tender and succulent.

Steaming is a simple cooking method that results in clean, pure flavors. In this recipe, we layer sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms in a steamer basket under briefly marinated chicken thighs. The mushrooms soak up the cooking juices, becoming deeply flavorful. Drizzling the chicken with a few tablespoons of sauce after steaming but before slicing allows the sake-soy mixture to better permeate the meat. Serve with steamed rice.