Miso Chicken Piccata

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH! This blog has been graced with far more visitors than I'd even dared to hope for. I have such lovely, supportive friends. And I love that they love food! I hope you're enjoying it at least a fraction as much as I am - if you are, please feel free to pass on my link to others. I don't anticipate Smitten Kitchen success... but maybe Lottie + Doof?... ever so humbly?... Whatever, I am just having a lot of fun so far. Special thanks to those who comment - without you, I'd just be talking to myself on this here google machine, and I already feel like I talk to myself all day long as it is. (Not that I'm anything other than TOTALLY grateful for that! I love this time at home. And soon enough, when my daughter's noises evolve into the inevitable run-on sentences that I fear she'll embrace before we know it, I'm certain I won't get a word in edgewise. (Truthfully, though, I kind of can't wait for that. Kids say the funniest s*&t!))

But anyway, back to the comment gratitude. Food is worthy of dialogue in my opinion, so keep it coming. I love it, and plan on responding to all comments received within 48-hours of posting, so check back and see the ongoing conversation if you'd like.

Today's recipe is a simple, delicious dinner that MC and I have made twice in the last ten days, and ate four times, since each recipe yields at least four servings and we are just two. I don't often rave about chicken, as I think it's boring and dry most of the time, but this turned out quite juicy and flavorful both times. It's delicious and salty, and -

speaking of salty, let's just get one thing out on the table here - you will never, never hear (or read) me say that something is too salty. I don't understand too salty from a taste perspective, although I'm conscious of the health risks associated with sodium consumption. I use a lot of salt in my cooking (and baking, for that matter) but feel that since I try not to use processed, jarred or canned ingredients with any regularity, I've got some leeway -

The point I was getting at, anyway, is this: if you perhaps do not love salt as much as I do (and, frankly, you probably don't unless you're my dad, who I don't think is reading this because he confuses the "enter" key with the space bar still), you might want to start with smaller quantities of salt and other salty ingredients (e.g. miso, soy sauce) than the quantities I tend to suggest. I'm just putting it out there. It's for your own good.

(On a similar note, you'll probably never hear (read) me say something is too sweet either. I've never been one for subtlety. Or maybe I just have dull taste buds. Yikes.)

Here's that recipe I was talking about ages and ages ago. Salty salty salty and easy to boot! (And apparently "light", given its Cooking Light origins.)


Miso Chicken Piccata
Adapted from Cooking Light, August 2009

3/4 cup water
1/2 vegetable bouillon cube (Rapunzel brand are best, though they're slow to dissolve)
5 tablespoons miso (I used mellow red miso, but I'm sure any would be fine since red is, evidently, the strongest of the misos)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1.25-1.5 lbs in total weight)
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced (CONFESSION: I used garlic powder both times and it was fine!)
1/4 medium onion, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons capers
freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine bouillon and miso with water in a mixing cup until dissolved (as best as you can - mine was a little grainy both times, even after sitting for a bit, but once cooked it was fine). Set aside.

Place flour on a plate and grind some pepper on top. Pound each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/4" thick. Dredge chicken in flour.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Add wine to deglaze pan, scraping up any sticky brown bits. Reduce heat to medium and stir in miso mixture, onions and garlic (powder). Return chicken to pan and cook 3 minutes or so, until done. Remove from heat, add juice, capers and pepper and stir gently. Serve immediately, over cooked white, brown or wild rice, drizzling pan sauce over chicken and rice. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Salty! Yum!


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