Manganji Stuffed with Miso-Chicken
Serves 2 to 4
6 Manganji or Poblano peppers, each about one ounce
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3 ounces ground chicken, dark meat preferred
- 1 scallion or green onion, about 1 tablespoon finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon miso, preferably mugi miso (barley-enriched fermented bean paste)
- vegetable oil
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup dashi (Basic Sea Stock, recipe below)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Trim the stem-end of the peppers. Slit each, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. With a pastry brush dipped in the cornstarch, lightly dust the inner surfaces of the pepper halves.
In a small bowl, combine the ground chicken with the remaining cornstarch, scallions and miso paste. Using a butter knife or small spatula, press the meat mixture in to the pepper halves, smoothing off the top surface.
In a heavy skillet set over high heat, sear the peppers, meat-side down. If you have an otoshi-buta (“dropped wooden lid”), use it to press on the peppers ensuring that the meat stuffing will adhere well. When the meat becomes opaque and slightly seared (about 2 minutes), flip the pepper pieces and sear the skin side for 1 minute. Flip again so that the meat side is flush with the skillet surface.
Add the dashi stock and sugar, jiggling the pan to ensure even distribution. (The larger quantity of stock will be needed if you are cooking 8 peppers rather than 6.) Lower the heat slightly and cook for 1 minute, or until the liquid is nearly gone. Add the soy sauce, and jiggle the pan to distribute evenly. Turn the heat back up to high and glaze the peppers.
If peppers are very large, cut each in half or thirds to make eating with chopsticks easier. Transfer to individual plates and spoon any juices remaining in the pan over the peppers.
BASIC SEA STOCK
Adapted from WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen
Dashi is a subtle broth with the capacity to enhance and intensify the flavor of those foods with which it is cooked or blended. That ability is locked within kombu (kelp) and katsuo bushi (smoky bonito fish flakes), the two ingredients used to make this basic sea stock: Both are both rich in water-soluble glutamates.
Although it takes only a few minutes to make dashi, timing and temperature control is important. To extract the full potential of the kelp's flavor-enhancing properties, you need to start the stock from cold water, slowly bringing it barely to a boil – the point at which small bubbles begin to break on the surface, and around the rim of your pot. Then, to prevent the broth from becoming murky, and to hold possible bitterness at bay, you need to remove your pot from the stove before adding the fish flakes. That way, the smoky, full-bodied flavor of the flakes can seep into the broth.
Makes about 1 quart.
1 generous quart cold water; use filtered or bottled water for best results
6-8 square inches (15 to 20 sq.centimeters) kombu (kelp; Hidaka kombu is the preferred type)
1/2 cup loosely packed (2, 5-gram packets) katsuo bushi (dried bonito flakes)
Place the kelp in a pot with the water. If time permits, let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes before placing the pot over medium-high heat. Remove the pot from the burner as soon as small bubbles begin to break on the surface and at the rim of the pot. Remove the kelp. Add the fish flakes, scattering them across the surface of the broth. After several minutes the fish flakes will begin to sink. The larger the flakes, the longer it will take. Those at the top of a freshly opened bag might take 5 or 6 minutes, while the powdery bits that settle at the bottom of the package could sink almost immediately. To keep the stock from tasting "fishy" it is best to strain the broth through a cloth or paper-lined colander within 3 or 4 minutes of adding the flakes.
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Source: http://www.tasteofculture.com/display-text.php?pd_key=92
Recipe category: Entree