December 2022
As a quick, satisfying dinner, crispy chicken thighs are hard to beat. Two-ingredient miso butter adds flavor, and spinach adds tons of nutrients, like folic acid, potassium, and vitamin K.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1.5 pounds total)
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 5-ounce package fresh baby spinach
Tools
- Medium pot with a lid
- Large oven-safe skillet
- Small bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Wooden spoon
Instructions
1. Make the rice.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium pot, combine rice with 1 1/2 cups water, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and let it sit, covered and off the heat.
2. Mix the miso butter.
In a small bowl, stir together room temperature butter and miso paste. Set aside.
3. Cook the chicken.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.
Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add thighs, skin side down, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the skin is golden brown and most of the fat has melted, about six minutes. Pour out and discard all but a thin layer of the fat.
Flip the thighs and transfer them to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Put thighs on a plate and place a spoonful of miso butter on top of the skin of each one.
4. Finish the rice.
Put the hot skillet back on the stove over medium heat. (Leave the fat and liquid from the chicken in the skillet.) Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about a minute. Stir in the spinach to wilt it, then stir in the rice.
Serve each chicken thigh with a pile of rice.
