Comfort Food: Sort-of-Like-Adobo Baked Miso & Sesame Chicken
I make this when I don’t have the time to stand in front of my stovetop while making traditional chicken adobo.
Comfort Food follows the most practical part of my magic practice—recipes. Here’s what keeps my household healthy.
Recipe first! This one is a hit with my co-workers. It actually came up in conversation because we were talking about Filipino food, and I shared this as a version of adobo.
Primary ingredients:
4–5 chicken thighs (about 1lb or 500g)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1–2 tbsp sesame seeds
Marinade
Marinade ingredients:
2 tbsp white miso paste
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
This marinade can also be a glaze for vegetables, fish, or tofu! More on that in a bit.
To all the enraged Filipinos reading this, I know it’s not an adobo recipe! But it does have the main ingredients of the Filipino favorite in the marinade—vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper, and garlic. I make this when I don’t have the time to stand in front of my stovetop while making traditional chicken adobo.
You’ll also need a small bowl, a resealable bag, a baking sheet, aluminum foil, oil spray, and an oven to make this recipe.
Directions:
Add marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
Prick the chicken’s surface repeatedly with a fork.
Add the chicken and marinade to a resealable bag and squeeze out the air as you close it. Massage the bag and marinate for at least 3 hours in the fridge but no longer than a whole day.
Take the bag out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it in a single layer on the baking sheet, skin side up.
Bake the chicken for 35 minutes or until its internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. After this, you can optionally turn the oven up to broil and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the skin is crispy.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
For Vegetables
I like using 1–1.5lb of yellow or Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes for vegetables glazed in this marinade! I usually chop and keep the potato cubes in cold water for about 20–30 minutes—to make them fluffy—and then toss them in the marinade before arranging them on a baking sheet. Bake the potatoes at 350°F for 45–50 minutes.
For Fish
For fish, I like using 2–3 salmon fillets. Depending on the size of the fillets, you can fit in a fourth. If the marinade looks like it’s not enough, you can double the recipe. Add the salmon and marinade to a resealable bag and squeeze out the air as you close it. Marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes but no longer than 4 hours. Remove the salmon from the marinade and place it in a single layer on the baking sheet, skin side up. Bake the salmon at 375°F for 15–20 minutes or until its internal temperature reaches at least 145°F. You can also optionally turn the oven up to broil and cook for an additional 3–5 minutes until the edges are crispy, but I skip this step for fish because I always end up burning the top!
For Tofu
I like using 16oz of firm tofu cut into 1-inch cubes. I coat them in a cornstarch/salt mixture—about 6 tbsp cornstarch to 2 tsp salt—and fry them in a hot pan with vegetable/avocado oil about 1/4- to 1/2-inch high. I use a stainless steel pan and wait until the oil is about 350°F—about 5 minutes on medium heat should be enough time to reach that temperature. The tofu cubes should fry on each side for 3–5 minutes.
You can serve the tofu tossed in the marinade or with the marinade as a sauce on the side—I like doing the latter because leftovers keep better when they’re not tossed. To re-crisp and re-heat leftover fried tofu, bake or air fry at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
When Should You Make This Recipe?
I already mentioned when I make this recipe—when I don’t want to spend time standing up as I make traditional adobo. But you can make the marinade anytime you want something quick and tasty!
I shared this on my Substack because I refreshed this recipe to contribute to a holiday cookbook my work is compiling to distribute to employees. I said I didn’t know what to contribute, and my teammates reminded me of this recipe I hadn’t made in a while. Since the fall and winter seasons are here, I’ve been focusing on soup. And honestly, I’ve been making time for traditional adobo—because I can make fried adobo rice with the leftovers.
Do you have any recipes your friends and loved ones like? Tell me all about them! I’d like to try making them.
Photo by Fernando Aguilar on Unsplash
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