“Salad” Chicken
A steamed or poached chicken breast is a pantry staple in the Japanese kitchen. Called “Salad” Chicken, it represents a lightly-seasoned, juicy, nearly fat-free protein that can be put to good and tasty use in all kinds of ways: sliced, diced, or shredded and included in salads, topped on ramen and other soups, mixed into vegetable dishes to give them a protein and umami boost, made into sandwiches, and also mixed into rice and noodle dishes. It’s so commonly used that it can be bought pre-made in vacuum-packs of 1/4 lb. pieces at almost every supermarket and convenience store. It’s also incredibly easy to make at home.
The recipe first marinates the chicken in sake and some basic seasonings, all of which enhance the tenderness, moistness, and savoriness of the chicken, especially the sake and usukuchi soy sauce because they contain subtle forms of umami. Sake is a great flavor transporter, and it also speeds up the brining process, helping the other seasonings work their way into the meat, so that you can cook the chicken soon after assembling the ingredients. (It will continue to work its magic during the gentle, slow cooking process.) None of the seasonings skew flavor, and the final result is a very tender, moist, “chicken-y” tasting chicken breast.
This is a base recipe that’s delicious in itself and gives you the flexibility to use the chicken how ever way you want. Then, you and your guests will likely further season and flavor it depending on the dish you make and the condiments you put on the table. But, if you’d like to accent the chicken’s flavor while cooking it, see the Variations below.
“Salad” Chicken
”Sarada” Niwa-Tori : サラダ鶏
Serves 3-4
Main Foods
Boneless Chicken Breast Half, 1 (about 350 g)
Seasonings
Sake, 2 tablespoons
Sugar, 1/2 teaspoon
Sea Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Usukuchi Soy Sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons — See Substitutions
Lemon Juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons
Aromatics / Flavorings
See Variations
Directions
Rinse the chicken under cold water, pat dry, and cut in half down the length of the breast to create two fairly even-sized, long pieces. If one side is especially thick, butterfly it, then cut it in half. Or cover the thick piece with a small piece of plastic wrap and pound it down a bit with a rolling pin. Pierce each piece all over with a fork.
Mix the seasonings in a heat-resistant plastic bag that is just big enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken, gently massage the seasonings into the pieces, press out the air, and seal tightly. Let the chicken come to room temperature.
When ready to cook, put 8 cups (2 liters) of water in a deep fry pan or large sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat, give the water a few seconds to settle and slide the bag of chicken into the water. Cover and leave it for 45 minutes. Longer is fine as the chicken won’t overcook.
Remove the bag from the pan, take out the chicken, and strain the juice through a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper and save. It’s a concentrated chicken stock that can be used in dressings, sauces, and soups.
Put the chicken in a container or new clean plastic bag with the strained juice and let it cool down naturally before putting in the refrigerator. It will keep for up for 5 days.
Serve / Use
To make a cold salad, slice or shred the chicken, arrange on a platter, and surround the pieces with tomato wedges, cucumber slices, leafy greens, whatever you like, such as steamed broccoli or other vegetables. Make a dressing by mixing a ratio of 2 tablespoons of the concentrated chicken stock to 1 tablespoon of oil (vegetable, light or toasted sesame, olive oil, etc.), season it with salt, pepper, and lemon juice or vinegar, and pour over the dish. When you use an umami-rich stock like this as a base for a dressing, you can get away with using a lot less oil. The oil is mainly included to give the dressing some creamy mouthfeel and help it cling to the foods it’s dressing.
You can serve the chicken right away as a warm side dish. Slice the chicken, arrange on a serving dish, and drizzle some of the strained stock over the pieces, seasoning it with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with whatever you like, such as chopped scallions or sheafs of peppery kawiare daikon radish sprouts. Or lay it on a bed of baby salad greens and/or thinly sliced onions.
Variations
Salad Chicken is sold in a variety of flavored ways in stores. It’s fun to play around with the recipe by adding aromatics and flavorings to the marinade. You can pretty much use anything. Just keep the amounts small and don’t use too many at one time. The aim is to make the chicken more interesting and not over-power its delicate flavor.
Here are some guidelines:
Garlic, Ginger, or Onion Powder — 1/4 teaspoon. Dried powders are better than fresh ingredients because they’re less harsh and will more quickly blend into the marinade. Use one of these or combine them at 1/4 teaspoon each.
Dried Herbs — 1/2 teaspoon. Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme, Marjoram, etc. Again, one or more is OK, but keep the total amount to 1/2 teaspoon in total. You can combine dried herbs together and onion, garlic, and ginger powders. For example, combine 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil. (This is a wonderful combination.)
Spice Mixes — 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. Curry, Cajun, Hawaiian Huli-Huli, Middle Eastern Bharaat, North African Ras Al Hanout, etc. If there is a lot of salt in the mix, consider reducing the amount of sea salt given in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon.
Wa-Fu — “Wa-Fu” means “Japanese style” and is usually associated with dishes made with strong, rich-tasting soy sauce versus lighter-tasting usukuchi soy sauce. If you’d like to make something like this, substitute regular soy sauce for the usukuchi soy sauce, use a raw cane or light brown sugar, and add 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder to the marinade. When making a dressing with the concentrated chicken stock, use toasted sesame oil.
Substitutions
If you don’t have any usukuchi soy sauce on hand, you can replace it with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt, bringing the total amount of salt in the recipe to 3/4 teaspoon instead of the 1/2 teaspoon given. You’ll still have a very tasty chicken and concentrated stock.