Pre-preparation Required

Marinate the chicken overnight for a better
tasting result or 8 hours ahead

Special Equipment

Ceramic Oven Dish
Fry Pan
Grill Pan / Grill Plate

Ingredients

2 x Chicken Thigh fillets
1/4 teaspoon of Salt and a bit extra for roasting vegetables
1/2 teaspoon of Sugar
1/ 4 teaspoon of White Pepper
1/4 teaspoon of Black Pepper and a bit extra for seasoning the rice
1/2 tablespoon of light Soy Sauce for marinating chicken and a bit extra for seasoning the rice
2 tablespoons of White Miso Paste*
1/2 tablespoon of Mirin*
2 tablespoons of Water

1/2 of a Butternut Pumpkin, cut into small cubes
12 Cherry Tomatoes
3 Kale leaves, chopped into strips
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 and a 1/2 cups of cooked medium grain Brown Rice
Olive Oil

Create

Firstly, season the chicken thighs with the salt, sugar, white pepper, black pepper and soy sauce.

In a small bowl, mix together the miso, mirin and the water to make a thin, smooth paste. Lather this over the chicken thighs and let this marinate overnight. If unable to do this, try for at least 8 hours marination time.

On the actual cooking day:

Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F).

In a ceramic oven dish, place the pumpkin, cherry tomatoes and garlic, sprinkle olive oil sparingly and salt to season. Cook for about 40 mins or when the pumpkin cubes begin to brown and the cherry tomatoes look a bit ‘shrivelled’.

Cook the brown rice according to the instructions to yield about one and a half cups of cooked rice.

Set the Grill Pan or Grill Plate on high heat, brush with olive oil.  Sear the chicken on both sides. This should only take a couple of minutes. Turn down the heat to let the meat slowly cook. Total cooking time will be about 10 mins or when the fillet turns a lovely brown colour. Slice when ready.

In a separate fry pan, add a dash of olive oil and toss in the kale leaves. Add the brown rice and mix. Add the pumpkin and cherry tomatoes and ensure all the ingredients are well mixed together. Season the rice with a dash of soy and pepper to your taste.

Dish the rice up and serve chicken fillets on top.

Serves 2

*Refer ‘The Asian Pantry’

If you don’t have a ceramic oven dish, you can use a metal tray lined with baking paper so that the pumpkin and tomatoes won’t stick to the tray.