Chicken Hot Pot Recipe From Hinoki & The Bird
Fight April showers with Japanese comfort food
Kuniko Yagi spoke little English when she moved to Los Angeles from Japan 10 years ago. She also had never cooked professionally. A decade later, she is now executive chef at David Myers' Los Angeles restaurant Hinoki & the Bird.
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Though she plans to stay in Los Angeles indefinitely, Yagi's homesickness for Japan is reflected in the food she cooks at home on the weekends. That includes this chicken hot pot seasoned with homemade ponzu sauce, a dish that's a staple of Yagi's diet and one she makes year-round, varying the vegetables depending on the season.
Recipe adapted from Kuniko Yagi, Hinoki & the Bird, Los Angeles
Chicken Hot Pot
Hinoki & the Bird chef Kuniko Yagi shares her recipe for Japanese-style chicken hot pot
servings
2
servings
Ingredients
- Chicken drumsticks, 4 (about 1 pound); rinsed under cold running water)
- Kosher salt, ½ teaspoon
- 3 cups bite-size vegetables (such as bok choy, carrots, shiitake mushrooms or snow peas; leafy vegetables such as baby bok choy tops, baby spinach and other small greens can be left whole)
- Dark soy sauce, ½ cup
- Fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
- Rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons
- Daikon, one 1½-inch piece (peeled and grated on a Microplane-style grater, about 2 tablespoons)
- Ginger, one 2-inch piece (use the edge of a teaspoon to scrape off the skin; grate the root on a Microplane-style grater)
- Togarashi (Japanese chile powder), for serving
- Cooked short-grain brown rice, 2 cups
- Large eggs, 2
Directions
- To a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the: Drumsticks Kosher salt Add enough water to cover the chicken and fill the pot two-thirds full. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 20 minutes, using a large metal spoon to skim off any foam that settles at the surface. Add the: Bite-size vegetables Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the vegetables until they are just tender, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- While the vegetables cook, make the ponzu sauce: To a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add the: Dark soy sauce Fresh lemon juice Rice vinegar Bring to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool before serving.
- Use a slotted spoon to add the cooked chicken, vegetables and about 1½ cups of broth to 2 bowls. Season each with some of the ponzu sauce (save extra sauce for serving). Serve with the: Grated daikon Grated ginger A dash or two of Togarashi 4. Return the leftover liquid in the pot to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add the: Cooked brown rice In a small bowl, use a fork to lightly beat the: Large eggs Use the fork to stir the beaten eggs into the rice-broth mixture, stirring to combine and cooking until the eggs shred into long, opaque ribbons. Serve the porridge as a second course to the chicken with broth.