The chicken thighs can look like they’re cooking very quickly in the oven, sometimes appearing burnt. However, this is most likely the miso caramelizing on the skin of the chicken, which will add deeper flavors to your final dish. As long as you’ve followed the recipe above and set the oven to 400°F, then your chicken should roast perfectly.
This miso-butter rub is essentially a compound butter, which is a fancy term for room-temperature butter that’s been mixed with other ingredients. It’s used to add delicious flavors to meats, as a type of marinade. For the compound butter in this recipe, we’ve included maple syrup, but you could substitute this for honey, if you’d prefer even sweeter notes for your chicken. Some chefs will add citrus notes too, such as lime juice, for a little sourness to offset the sweetness of the maple syrup. Miso is the key ingredient in this compound butter and white miso is best for this mix, as it’s sweeter and milder than other miso varieties, and won’t overpower the chicken.
You can also add other ingredients to the roasting dish for a one-pan cooking approach. Some recipes feature nutritionally-dense ingredients including cabbage, or corn, for a pop of color and sweetness. Depending on what’s in season, try adding other vegetables such as green beans or kale, for added crunchy textures and nutritional benefits.
And if you want to add even more crunch to this dish, why not breadcrumb your chicken breasts, if using this cut? You can do this simply with panko breadcrumbs by dipping the breasts into all-purpose flour, egg, and then the breadcrumbs to coat, before frying in a pan. If following this method, you won’t need to then transfer the meat to the oven, but instead just fry the chicken in a pan for four minutes on each side. This adds an irresistible crispiness and is a playful twist on the chicken thighs version of this dish.
For any leftover miso, you may be interested to know that you can use it in sweet dishes. From miso pound cake to miso ice cream, it’s a versatile ingredient that can be enjoyed in lots of desserts.
Cooking Variations (Thighs vs Breast)
While we’ve used chicken thighs in this recipe as the tender meat works best with the miso-butter rub, you could make miso-butter chicken breast instead. You’ll need to take care not to overcook the breast and make it too tough. Instead of roasting for 30 minutes, as with the thighs, check the breasts after 20 minutes in the oven for doneness. You could even make this rub and roast a whole chicken. You’ll need to double the amount of ingredients to ensure you have enough to fully marinate an entire chicken. For more help and inspiration on which cuts to use, we have a full guide on chicken cuts to help.
How to Pair It
Miso-butter chicken pairs beautifully with a variety of other Asian-inspired dishes. Enjoy this dish with a hearty helping of teriyaki brown rice salad for a comforting midweek meal.
Or, to explore a fusion-cooking approach, serve this miso-butter chicken alongside traditional roast side dishes, such as maple-glazed carrots, roast potatoes or sweet potatoes, for a twist on a Sunday dinner.
