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Chicken, bean sprouts and ultra-soft onions in a delicious Japanese soy sauce. A super easy recipe that I brought back from Tokyo.
From my time living in Japan, there are a few dishes that I remember which are, for me, everyday Japanese meals: this yakiniku-style chicken, katsudon, soy and lemon chicken…
I offer you here not a traditional Japanese dish made according to the rules of the art, but my own version of dishes that I have eaten dozens and dozens of times. What did I say hundreds and hundreds of times when I lived in Japan.
A sort of derivative of Japanese yakiniku. Literally, yaki means cooked and niku means meat. So it all works equally good with chicken or beef.
Over time, and depending on the reactions of my guests, this adaptation of what my neighbor in Tokyo prepared took this form. I have always come to make it as I tell you in this recipe.
The main points of the recipe
Start by browning the meat (here chicken breast in cubes or strips, which you can replace with beef fillet) then the chopped onions ideally with sesame oil.
Japanese sesame oil if you find it, it is toasted and has a very pronounced taste. Otherwise, use sunflower oil.
Then add the sauce. My ideal mix is ½ soybean oil, ¼ sweet soybean oil, ¼ mirin.
The mirin is a kind of sweet rice wine that has a flavor similar to that of sake, but with a lower alcohol content and a slightly syrupy texture. Its tangy sweetness helps enhance the salty and umami flavors of the soy sauce.
Then let it cook slowly. The meat will soak up the flavors of the sauce. The onions too, they will become ultra soft.
Add the soy sprouts at the end of cooking. It may be optional if you can’t find one, but when you leave them a little, they completely change their texture, becoming soft but still remaining a little crunchy. It may seem strange and impossible to describe but it’s very nice.
Serve with rice or Japanese noodles
A white rice perfectly suited to this dish. Prepare it in the Japanese style by rinsing it beforehand and cooking it as usual or in a rice cooker. For my part, I have a cast iron casserole dish specially designed for rice and the result is quite stunning. It’s the Le Creuset Envy casserole dish that was given to me for Christmas 2 years ago. No sponsor or commercial relationship here, my husband loooooves giving me Le Creuset casseroles, I’m not going to forbid him!
Japanese noodles made from soft wheat flour. Allow 150 gr for this dish. While the meat is cooking, cook the noodles in boiling water (1 minute less than package directions). It’s very quick, around 2 to 3 minutes. Drain. 5 minutes before the end of cooking the meat, add the noodles and bean sprouts. Mix and let these two ingredients gently infuse the flavors of the dish before serving.
Sobas, Japanese noodles made with buckwheat flour. Proceed in the same way.
If you choose rice, serve it on the side. On the other hand, if you opt for Japanese noodles (soft wheat or buckwheat), I advise you to add them to your meat dish, it’s nicer. In this case, increase the quantity of sauce a little.
Japanese-style sliced soy chicken
Inspired by a Japanese dish, the chicken breasts are pan-fried in sesame oil then you add a soy and mirin-based sauce. Serve with Japanese noodles and bean sprouts. My version of Japanese yakiniku. Variation with equally delicious beef fillet.
To prevent sleep
Serve with rice or Japanese noodles
Serve with chopsticks!
Enjoy your food !
Enjoy