EASY AND HEALTHY RECIPES, TIPS FOR HEALTHY LIVING, FOOD REVIEWS, ETC

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fried Chicken with Watercress Apple Salad in Ginger Miso Dressing

 
Lately, I've been rediscovering the simplicity and beauty of flavoring meats by placing them in brine.  I remember my grandma never breaded her fried chicken.  She would brine chicken thighs for 2 hours then rinse them briefly.  After patting them dry, she fried the chicken in a skillet till they were golden brown and cooked through. They don't become soggy even a day later.  I tried her method but I let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight instead of 2 hours. When my son had a taste of the fried chicken, he declared that it was one of  the best fried chicken he's had! It was a first time for him-- fried chicken without any breading!  Paired with watercress apple salad, it's a keeper.

Here is grandma's easy fried chicken that I served with watercress salad with ginger miso dressing:

4 chicken thighs
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup water
canola oil for frying
1 bunch of watercress
1 apple, cut into wedges
1 tsp ginger (you can add more if you wish)
2-3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp miso
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chicken stock
soy sauce

Combine the salt, water, pepper and chicken in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge overnight. Next day, rinse the chicken pieces briefly and pat dry.   Place canola oil in a cast iron skillet and set over medium heat.  When the oil is hot enough, add the chicken and cover the skillet.  Fry the chicken till cooked through.  Serve with watercress apple salad with ginger miso dressing and soy sauce on the side if you wish.

To prepare ginger miso dressing, combine ginger, miso, rice vinegar, sugar, and chicken stock. You can adjust the ratio of sugar to vinegar to suit your taste. Combine watercress and apple wedges and drizzle dressing over it.

13 comments:

Sharlene T. said...

Guess what I'm fixing tomorrow night! What a simple solution and a delicious result. Thank you so much for sharing.

Juliana said...

Wow, what a great chicken dish...and since I love miso, I really must try this one :-)

Ivy said...

The chicken and salad sound delicious.

Mimi said...

I brine my pork and my poultry. It make such a big difference in the final outcome. This really looks delicious.
Mimi

sweetlife said...

easy and full of flavor..wonderful

sweetlife

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

You know I don't think I've ever brined anything. I know Mario Batali brines pork and thinks it makes all the difference in the world. I'm sure it would make fried chicken even better too. I love chicken and watercress.
Sam

Mary Bergfeld said...

It looks beautiful and your recipe is terrific. Brining makes a huge difference with chicken and pork and your miso dressing sounds so good on a watercress salad. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary.

Anonymous said...

The chicken sounds terrific with the brining method. I like the ginger miso dressing for the salad too!

tasteofbeirut said...

I have never tried the brining technique although I heard a lot about it! You are spurring me on with this recipe~
regarding pomegranate molasses, it can be found at ethnic or middle-eastern stores and even some other stores, i found it at Latino markets like Fiesta; also I ma sure Amazon sells it online, other sites like buylebanese.com

Carolyn Jung said...

You had me at ginger miso dressing. As anyone who knows me can attest, I cannot resist anything with ginger in it. ;)

Fresh Local and Best said...

Intriguing. I'm always looking for ways to keep chicken crisp. This looks like a great simple recipe with a few steps to prepare ahead of time. Looks great!

Carolyn Jung said...

I just bought some watercress at the market today. And ginger miso dressing sounds like the absolute perfect accompaniment.

tasteofbeirut said...

That miso dressing sounds delicious; I am going to try it out soon.