Cuisine – Miso caramel chicken

Keen to try a new ingredient? Miso is a Japanese pantry staple with lots of uses. Added to dishes, the paste adds ‘umami’ to the flavour profile. Umami adds a delicious savoury taste, which was originally identified in Japan and is regarded as the fifth taste – the others being sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

The simplest version of miso (there are several available – white, red or brown in the supermarket) is white miso, a creamy white paste made from fermented soybeans and rice (or other grains) with added koji, a fungus, Aspergillus oryzae. Don’t let all this technical stuff put you off, as the mild, sweet, slightly salty, with complex fruity or nutty undertones will bring a new dimension and energy to your cooking.

You can use it straight from the packet as a simple summer dip for fresh carrots, cucumbers, peppers and radishes. Whisk a spoonful or two into mayonnaise to add flavour. If you have ever bought sushi you may have been tempted to buy a cup of hot miso broth to accompany your lunch. This might be the best way to try miso as that is a lovely and savoury light soup with a very satisfying flavour. Add miso to all soups, stews and casseroles to boost the flavour.

I often make a miso caramel to keep in the fridge as it is an excellent marinade to slather over chicken, meat and vegetables when roasting. It is simple – dissolve sugar in a heavy pan with water, bring to the boil and allow to simmer until the water evaporates and the sugar turns to caramel and miso is added. But be warned, the caramel gets extremely hot, turning dark very quickly so it MUST be watched constantly. Never make it with kids around and wear thick oven gloves, so if it does splash when you add a little water to stop it cooking, you are protected from nasty burns.

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Miso caramel chicken and eggplant

For the miso caramel
200g caster sugar
100g water
2 large tbsp miso paste
NB: Take extreme care while making this as the caramel gets very hot and could cause a serious burn. Read notes in the text please!

For the salad
6-8 free range chicken drumsticks
1 small eggplant
A handful of small lettuce leaves

Dipping sauce:
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
Chopped dill
Salt and pepper

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a rapid simmer, watching carefully until most of the water has evaporated. Once very large bubbles appear the sugar will start to caramelise quickly, starting at the edges, so shake and swirl the pan keeping the caramelisation even.

Once the caramel is a shade darker than golden syrup, remove the pan from the heat and carefully throw in a couple of tablespoons of cold water to stop further darkening. It will spit and fizz, but do not worry. Add the miso paste and keep stirring until the miso dissolves and it cools down. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Pat the chicken legs very dry. Using a small brush, coat the legs with miso caramel so that every surface is completely covered. Place in an oven dish lined with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes. When the chicken starts to shrink on the bone, remove from the oven, brush more caramel miso over the chicken and return to cook a few minutes longer until the chicken is a golden amber colour.

Meanwhile, cut the eggplant into half then half again. Score the cut surface lightly and brush with the miso caramel. Place on baking paper in the chicken leg dish, or another dish, and bake alongside the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes.

Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl, and taste to adjust the seasoning.

When the chicken and eggplant have cooled, arrange on a serving plate on top of the lettuce leaves and serve with the dipping sauce.