Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Skewers with Miso Ranch – A Combo Made in Heaven, and Sebastopol

I’ve wanted to film a skewered version of our chicken teriyaki recipe for a while, but it was actually a karaage I recently enjoyed that pushed me into action. Michele and I were at Ramen Gaijin in Sebastopol, where they serve an amazing chicken karaage that comes with a miso ranch dipping sauce. The cool, tangy sauce is just perfect with the fried nuggets of chicken, and I assumed (correctly so, as it turns out) that it would be just as effective with these skewers.

None of the ingredients below are very hard to find, and any large grocery store should have Sake, and Mirin, as well as probably several kinds of miso. I used a “white miso,” which is actually gold in color, but apparently the “white” refers to the rice content, which is the other main ingredient besides soybeans. Feel free to make the dressing without it, but its fermented savoriness is such a great addition, I’d at least make some effort to track it down.

As far as the chicken goes, there’s not a lot that can go wrong, but I’d caution against an extra long marination. Especially if you’re skewering small chunks like we did here. The meat will “cure” in the sweet, salty mixture, which can make for an odd texture once cooked, as well as the meat is more likely to start falling apart. Personally, I think about four hours is ideal, which is perfect, since you can marinade in the morning, and then grill in the afternoon. Regardless of these variables, I really do hope you give both these incredible recipes a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients to make about 12 small skewers:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 or 4 chunks each
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
1/3 cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
2 tablespoons finely minced green onions
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the Miso Ranch:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
1 generous tablespoon white miso paste, or to taste
1 tablespoon minced green onion
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
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18 comments:

Unknown said...

How would I go about cooking this on a cast iron skillet? Same times as the video on medium high heat? Cheers!

Unknown said...

I never know what soy sauce to use when recipes say ''soy sauce''. Is it light or dark soy sauce to be used in this recipe? Or is there some other universal soy sauce that I don't know about? Thanks

mogrizzly said...

Are there any non-alcoholic replacements for the mirin and sake?

rancholyn said...

This looks like such a winner? In addition to chicken how else could we use the miso ranch dessing? Thanks

Annie said...

Sooo doing this

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef,

I made this last night and the miso-ranch is out of this world!! I was dipping baby carrots and pepper slices in throughout the day while the chicken was marinating.

When the chicken was done, man what an awesome pairing also.

Thanks

Accendo Studio said...

Hi chef john!! I didn't know where to ask you for my food wish but my food wish is for you to make Veronique and you pick the protein! My hubby is a chef and we watch your show constantly and try to remake your dishes! Thanks for being awesome and ennnjoyyyyy your day ��

Andy J. said...

My dipping sauce became very thin after sitting for an hour. Does anyone have any idea why this would have happened? It was as thick as the one in the video when I finished mixing.

mani said...

Hi Chef John,
Following your channer for aa while now and love the blog. Just a small question here.
The buttermilk you added is pretty thick. what i get around here is pretty watered down. Is he buttermilk the thing that remains after the butter is sepatared from the cream or something else? (What am i missing here?)

mani said...

Hi Chef John,
Following your channel for aa while now and love the blog. Just a small question here.
The buttermilk you added is pretty thick. what i get around here is pretty watered down. Is he buttermilk the thing that remains after the butter is separated from the cream or something else? (What am i missing here?)

Gigi Jansen said...

I cannot use a real barbecue grill, can these skewers be done in the oven?

Julie said...

Holy smokes! I made this for din tonight & it was so fricken delish!!! Although I shouldn't be surprised- I've never been disappointed by any of your recipes. No joke. Thanks chef John!!

Alex said...

How long can the ranch dressing last?

Joe said...

Hey Chef John!

I don't have a Grill at home since I live in an apartment, could I use the oven?

If so, how long would I need to leave it in?

I just made the Miso Ranch, it was a REAL treat for my girlfriend, might have to keep it on the menu throughout the year :D

Cheers

Krystian said...

When I watched the video it looked delicious. So I just made it with little adjustments. I didn't find the Sake and Mirin unfortunately so I just used a sweet white wine as a replacement. I also didn't have access to regular grill so I used the oven in grill mode (220 degrees Celsius) and it worked out just fine. 3 minutes on one side, take out, use the marinade, flip and repeat so it would be about 6 minutes per side. Superbly tasty, even with the replaced ingredients:) I would make it again:D Thank you for great recipe!

Tony said...

Chef John,

I just did a test run of this recipe so I could determine if I was going to bring it to a BBQ this weekend. It was fantastic! First time using miso paste, too.

Wow!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John, I'm a big fan.My sauce also turned out very thin. What did I do wrong? Thank you.

TL said...

OMG Holy Cow !! This is a great combo. Make a double batch if there are people to serve as this will be devoured and all plates licked clean!

Just to add some extra crazy to this idea... I mixed up the ranch with some ricotta cheese and used it as a white sauce base on a pizza crust, topped with the teriyaki chicken that was chopped up a bit finer, and topped with some fresh mozz. This went back on the grill for some melting, and topped off with some arugula to finish. Yowsa. It was great.

I'll probably continue to use the base idea of the chicken/miso ranch in other forms. Pitas will be next.