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Simmered Chicken and Daikon
Serves 2–3 · About 50 min (10 min of this is just letting it sit with the heat off)
A home-style simmered dish: browned chicken thighs and daikon slowly cooked in a sweet-salty soy sauce and sugar broth.
① Cut the daikon→② Cut the chicken→③ Cook the chicken→④ Simmer with the daikon→⑤ Turn off the heat and let sit
What to buy
Meat
Vegetables
Seasonings & dry goods
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How to make it
1
Cut the daikon
- On a cutting board, cut the daikon into rounds 2 cm thick
- Lay them cut side down and cut off the outer skin with a knife, a little thickly (about 3 mm)
- Cut each round in half (half-moons)
How to tell it's doneAll the daikon is cut into half-moons 2 cm thick.
2
Cut the chicken
- Put the chicken skin side down on a cutting board and cut off the yellowish, soft fat sticking out
- Cut into pieces about 4 cm in size (about 10 pieces from 1 thigh)
- When you finish cutting, wash the cutting board, knife and your hands with dish soap
How to tell it's doneThe chicken is cut into pieces about the same size.
3
Cook the chicken
- Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat
- Lay the chicken skin side down and cook for 3 minutes without touching it
- Flip and cook for 1 minute (the inside can still be raw; it will cook through when simmered in step 4)
How to tell it's doneThe skin has a nice golden brown color.
Be carefulFat splatters from the skin. Don't put your face too close.
4
Simmer with the daikon
- Add the daikon and mix everything with a spatula to coat in oil
- Add 400 ml water, 1 tsp dashi granules, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp mirin and 1 tsp ginger
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off the brownish foam (aku) on top with a ladle and throw it away
- Add 3 tbsp soy sauce
- Cut a circle of foil a little smaller than the pot and put it right on top of the food (a drop lid). About 25 minutes over medium-low heat
How to tell it's doneA bamboo skewer (or a chopstick) goes easily into the daikon. Cut the biggest piece of chicken: it's white inside, not pink.
Be carefulLift the foil now and then to check. If the liquid is almost gone, add 50 ml water.
5
Turn off the heat and let sit
- Turn off the heat, take off the foil, put the pot lid on and leave for 10 minutes (the flavor soaks in as it cools)
- Taste it. If the flavor is weak, add soy sauce 1 tsp at a time and warm again over low heat for 1 minute
ReadyThe daikon is see-through and has turned brown. Serve in bowls with the broth.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
If it didn't work out
The daikon is hardIt didn't simmer long enough in step 4. Simmer 5 more minutes at a time until a bamboo skewer goes in easily.
The flavor hasn't soaked into the daikonIt didn't sit long enough in step 5. Let it sit 10 more minutes, or let it cool once and reheat to make the color deeper.
The chicken is toughIt kept boiling hard on high heat. Next time lower to medium-low heat once it boils.
The bottom burnedThe broth ran out. Don't scrape the burnt part; move only the food on top to the bowls. Next time check the amount of broth partway through.
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