Food Forum
Vol. 36 No. 4   Winter 2022

MORE ABOUT JAPANESE COOKING

FUSION RECIPE

CHICKEN WITH BLUEBERRY-WINE SAUCE

Blueberries add a rich flavor with a bit of tartness when combined with soy sauce, tomato paste and red wine. This versatile sauce can be adapted to accompany various meats.

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

354 kcal Protein 36.2 g Fat 17.2 g (per serving)

Sautéed chicken
  • 2 boneless chicken breasts, 450-600 g / 1-1 1/3 lb.
  • Shio koji salted malt*
  • Flour, for coating
  • Crushed black peppercorns, to taste
  • 1 T pure olive oil
  • 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 1-2 T sake or white wine
Sautéed mushrooms
  • 8 shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 eryngi mushrooms
  • 1 T pure olive oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper
Blueberry-wine saucea
  • 1 T pure olive oil
  • 1/4 onion, finely chopped (55 g / 2 oz.)
  • 1 T tomato paste
  • 1 T Kikkoman Soy Sauce
  • 100 ml / 3.5 oz. red wine
  • 100 ml / 3.5 oz. dashi stock or vegetable stock
  • 20 black peppercorns, crushed
  • 40 g / 1.4 oz. fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1 T honey

Directions

  1. Trim excess fat and butterfly the thick part of the chicken breasts for even cooking. Rub shio koji on both sides to season and tenderize; chill in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
  2. To prepare mushrooms, remove shiitake stems, cut caps in halves. Cut eryngi into halves then into 4-5 slices. Heat olive oil in a frying pan; sauté shiitake until slightly soft, then add eryngi. When tender, add 1 t butter, season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan, set aside.
  3. To prepare sauce, heat olive oil and sauté onion in a saucepan over lower-medium heat, until transparent. Reduce heat, add tomato paste and stir. Add soy sauce, mix well. Add red wine, raise to high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 3 minutes. Add dashi stock, crushed black peppercorns and blueberries; simmer for 10-15 minutes over low heat. Lightly crush blueberries. Add 1 T honey. Stir constantly until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat, set aside.
  4. Lightly wipe shio koji from chicken with paper towel; cut into halves along fiber. Coat both sides with flour, shake off excess. Sprinkle crushed black peppercorns on one side. Heat 1 T olive oil in a frying pan. Add chicken and 2 sprigs rosemary. Cook over medium heat until golden brown. Turn, cook the other side until slightly colored. Add 1-2 T of sake, cover and simmer until a skewer passes easily through chicken. Remove from pan, add remaining chicken juice to sauce; bring to another boil.
  5. Cut chicken into 2 cm- / 3/4 in.-wide pieces, place on serving platter. Drizzle sauce over chicken. Serve with sautéed mushrooms garnished with remaining rosemary.

* There are two types of shio koji: clear liquid and thick ivory-colored liquid. Use the latter in
this recipe: 1 t per 100 g / 3.5 oz. of chicken or 1 ½ T per 1 lb. of chicken.

Recipe by Michiko Yamamoto

1 C (U.S. cup) = approx. 240 ml; 1 T = 15 ml; 1 t = 5 ml