By Marais Vida
Contributing Writer
This recipe is just as comforting as a more traditional chicken soup, but comes together in about 30 minutes! Miso delivers deep, rich flavor without the need to boil away for hours and boneless skinless chicken breast cooks up very quickly.
Miso is a paste made from soybeans and/or grains fermented with salt and koji (a beneficial bacterial culture). White miso is very mild, but savory and slightly sweet, red miso is more robust. You can find either one in the Asian food isle of your local grocer, sometimes in the refrigerator section too.
Ingredients
cups chicken broth/stock
3 tablespoons miso paste
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
10 oz pak choy
3 carrots
8 oz mushroom
4-5 spring onion
1/2 c cilantro leaves
lime, for serving
Method
In a medium/large saucepan on the stove, bring your 8 cups of stock to a slow boil. Add the carrots sliced into ¼-inch slices and the miso paste. Cook for 8-10 minutes while preparing the other vegetables and the chicken breast.
If you were able to find pak choy (miniature boy choy), slice them into quarters, lengthways after rinsing them very thoroughly, they grow in very sandy soil and dirt can get right in between their stems. If using regular bok choy, cut into ½-inch slices.
Slice the mushrooms and scallions and cube the chicken breast into pieces about 1/2-1/3 inch in size.
Once the carrots are tender, but not mushy, add the pak choy. Let the pot come back to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the mushrooms and chicken.
Cover the pot and turn off the heat and wait while the residual heat cooks the chicken through. Check for doneness on the meat after 5 minutes. If your tester piece is still a little pink inside, cover it and wait a further 3-5 minutes. Boiling chicken breast can dry it out really fast, but gentle poaching makes it tender and succulent. Season to taste with salt and white pepper or even more miso paste, serve with fresh lime wedges, spring onion and cilantro.
