I think that boneless, skinless chicken thighs may just be the perfect meat. They're inexpensive; even responsibly-raised meat is only a few dollars a pound. They cook quickly, and they have a melting, tender texture no matter what you do to them. I've roasted, grilled, and pan-fried chicken thighs, and they are always quick, easy, and delicious. Here's one recent recipe for a quick weeknight dinner: Spicy, piquant chicken thighs coated with a mix of miso, ginger, and chili paste.
I have another recipe for spicy chicken thighs that I love to make for big dinner party crowds — it has coriander and cumin, along with hot peppers and tomato paste.
This recipe leans more on Asian pantry staples like miso, ginger, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. If you have a small chopper or food processor the paste comes together in a flash. If you don't have a chopper, then finely grate all the ingredients and mash or whisk them together.
Overall, this is a tangy, slightly sweet and salty recipe with a pleasant kick of heat from the chili sauce. I love chicken thighs; they are just so forgiving, and take so well to so many different types of seasonings. I am not a huge fan of really dark meat; I don't like drumsticks nearly so much. But I find that most chicken thighs, especially when they are boneless, taste only slightly darker, and have so much more flavor and a much better texture than chicken breasts.
Spicy Roasted Chicken Thighs with Miso and Ginger
serves 4 to 62 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons miso paste
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 to 6 garlic cloves
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce OR red chili paste
Take the chicken thighs out of their packaging and pat dry.
In a food processor or small chopper whiz the rest of the ingredients until they form a saucy red paste. Dump this over the chicken in a large bowl or pan and mix well. Refrigerate the chicken overnight — or bake immediately.
To bake, heat the oven to 425°F. Spread the chicken in a single layer on a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken thighs over once halfway through the baking time. When the internal temperature of the chicken is between 160 and 165°F, take the pan out and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
Serve while still piping hot.
Menu suggestions: Peanut Slaw, Scallion Pancakes, and Bibingka for dessert.
More chicken thigh recipes:
• Tangy, Spicy Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Vinegar
• Recipe: Lemon Garlic Chicken
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WOW! This looks so good, and it sounds like its new-diet friendly (I started South Beach today) YUM!
If you make it, don't be put off my the not so great aroma of the sauce prior to baking. I used brown miso paste. My 6 year old son loved these! I used Sriracha for the chili sauce, but only about 1/2 tablespoon, to dial back the spiciness just a little for him. It still had a pleasant kick to it, but not too hot for the little mouth, though he does like mildly spicy food.
Made this the other night and it turned out amazing! So easy too. This is definitely going in the weeknight meal rotation.
Long time lurker, first time poster. Made this chicken tonight for a Sunday extended family dinner. Got rave reviews. Actually made the slaw and the dessert above too, and with some rice, it was a great meal. Easy and delicious.
This was incredible...made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it!
I made this last night too BUT I could not find Miso paste so I subbed in curry paste. Where does one find Miso paste and how is it sold? What does it look like? Is it the base for Miso soup?
I made this Sunday - super easy and delicious! My only comment is it needs more sauce, so that if you serve it over rice, there's extra sauce for the rice. Maybe just double the recipe for the sauce?
The miso I buy comes in a heavy clear plastic bag (about the size of a bag you would put coffee beans in in the supermarket), it looks like tan Playdough, and it's on the shelf in the Asian section of the supermarket. It is the base for miso soup.
whole foods has miso paste in the refrigerated section near the dairy/eggs
so i made this yesterday
except i had no ginger and no vinegar so i added a bit of Mirin (Sweetened sake) and i used my chopper on about a quarter of an onion for a bit of texture since i didn't have any ginger.
abso-freaking-lutely delicious
Yum! I'm making these tonight. I think I'll sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top too. I'll let you know how it goes.
how about chicken wings? i wonder how that will turn out.
Are you also supposed to include the juice of the lemon? or just the zest?
This was excellent! I had the day off today and as usual it got to be a little later in the day than I thought but this came together in no time. I wanted to prepare something other than my normal steak and potatoes menu for my wife to surprise her when she came home from work. I added a white rice and my wife's recipe for maple caramelized carrots (actually she helped make the carrots - ok she pretty much did the carrots and rice). My wife is not the biggest fan of hot sauces so I used only 3/4 of a tablespoon of the chili garlic sauce and she loved it. The carrots were a nice difference to the asian spices on the chicken and I agree that chicken thighs are perfect for this dish. Thanks so much for helping a steak and potatoes only cook make something entirely different - wife was totally surprised.
More praise for this recipe...my husband loved loved loved it. The sauce is great on tofu too!
FYI, this is amazing.
This was delicious. Very easy to make, I marinated it for about 3 hours. Served it with brown rice and roasted carrots seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper. My husband was very happy :) Thanks!
I tried this recipe tonight .The only modification I made was Black pepper.It was delicious.I will add this to my chicken rotation
This was deeeeeeeeelicious. It was a very hands-off prep too - just blend, toss, and forget about it for the rest of the day. 30 minutes seemed juuuust right, but any more would've burned mine, it seems. I served mine with the Japonica rice and salad. I might double the sauce next time too, as someone said above - so yummy!