Pari Pari-Style Chicken...

School is back, which means crunch evenings filled with homework, extra-curricular activities, next-day lunch and snack preps, and earlier bedtimes. Quick and easy-to-make dinners has been helpful to get me through the first week. One I really enjoyed making and my family loved eating is Pari Pari style chicken, inspired from a cookbook recipe by the Martha Stewart of Japan, Harumi Kurihara. A wonderful economical chicken dish that takes on a lovely golden slightly crisp skin by blessing it with a brush of sesame oil halfway though oven-cooking. Paired with steamed rice and a crunchy creamy coleslaw (prepared while the chicken is baking), it makes for a satisfying meal that went from kitchen to table in an hour!.. Leaving more time to do other things on a school night! Now that's a good thing :D

Pari Pari-Style Chicken (adapted from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking)
Makes 4 servings

8 chicken thighs on the bone with skin on
2 Tbsp. dry sherry (or sake)

1 tsp. mirin (sweet cooking wine)-- optional
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
dash of ground pepper
2 Tbsp. sesame oil (to coat the chicken)

Serve with:

Worcestershire sauce for dipping
Steamed rice (I like white or brown short grain)

Creamy cabbage salad (as a side)

Debone the chicken, and place bones in a sealed bag and freeze for soup broth use later. Mix together the wine(s), soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and pepper then marinate the chicken and cover for about 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, prepare the side cabbage salad (I like to also add chopped parsley or cilantro and thinly sliced red onions for colour and flavour) and tossed with Japanese Kewpie mayo. Make it ultra-crunchy by following these steps and tips in my Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet post.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place chicken skin-up on a foil-lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven (carefully drain the excess liquid) and brush thighs with sesame oil. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes more until the skin is crispy. Remove from the oven. While it is hot, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Look at that lovely golden brown skin. Aromatic, tender-moist and delicious! 

Serve with steamed rice and creamy cabbage salad. I sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds and slathered the chicken in Peri Peri hot sauce. The brand I like is hot and tangy Nando's. Peri Peri on Pari Pari-- why not?

Or a dip dip in that yummy Worcestershire sauce making every bite extra tasty!

More on the cookbook author for inspiration-- Harumi Kurihara (栗原 はるみ, born March 5, 1947) is a celebrity home-maker and television personality in Japan. She has never had formal training as a chef and is highly regarded for her satisfying home-cooking, combining traditional Japanese with nouveau Western influences, while accounting for the real-world time constraints of a housewife. Other recipes I've made from her books, include my take on her Ginger Pork (Shoga Yaki), Pork with Aromatic Vegetables and Teriyaki Hamburg Steak. Again, with the appeal of catering to the home-cook with simplicity and deliciousness.