Baked Mochiko Chicken Bento Box

Today’s featured bento box is filled with two  musubis, one wrapped in nori, the other mixed with fukikake.  There is an umeboshi tucked in there between them and the gingered carrots.  The entire right side of the box is a new recipe, “Baked Mochiko Chicken”.  As promised, I posted  a non-vegetarian or vegan recipe.  Afterall, Saba Man is not a vegetarian and so I do cook meat now and then.

Mochiko Chicken is something that we never prepared at our house while growing up.  I’m not sure why, but I suspect it’s because  my parents, althought great cooks,  had their core set of recipe from which they did not deviate.  My first recollection of Mochiko Chicken was as a  young adult, eating a “plate lunch” at a local Hawaii diner!  Of course after that I was hooked, how could anyone resist the slightly sweet, crunchy yet sticky,  crispy coated,  shoyu flavored, chicken bites!   I never cooked it myself, as the recipe calls for frying and I don’t like to fry.  Too messy.  But with my renewed interest with packin bento box lunches, I’m stepping out side the proverbial box to use other methods for preparing foods that Iwould otherwise skip.  Hence the Baked  Mochiko Chicken!   

Please don’t mistake the word baked, in this case, for oil free.  There is oil involved, not a lot of it and it’s olive oil.  But oil nontheless.   Also, I think it takes  a  bit more time to cook using the baking method instead of frying,  so it does come down to a personal choice.  The recipe describes baking but you can certainly fry  the chicken instead.  I want to mention that I cook using free range chickens.  Yes, they might cost a bit more,  but so well worth it.  Very delicious and like I’ve said before, “they taste like chicken”.    And I’m not just spouting sarcasm, free range chickens taste like real food, hence “tastes like chicken”.   I compare it to eating  a freshly baked, homemade cookie versus eating a factory baked one.  Big difference.

Anyway… here’s the recipe.

 Ingredients:

2  lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup mochiko (sweet rice flour)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4  teaspoon salt

1/4 cup  cooking shoyu (soy sauce)

Mirin to taste

4  garlic cloves, minced (more if you like garlic)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

Olive oil

 Directions:

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.

In a small bowl combine shoyu, mirin, garlic and ginger and chicken.

Add sesame seeds if desired.

Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour but best if  3 – 4 hours.

In a medium bowl, sift together mochiko flour, cornstarch and salt then  mix well.  Set aside.

When ready to bake,  completely coat  the bottom of a broiler pan or cookie sheet with olive oil.   Not deep but enough keep the chicken from sticking to the pan.  I baked  this in a large toaster oven  in 2 batches.  If you use your regular oven, just adjust your heat accordingly.   Place the oiled pan into the oven and preheat the pan at 425 degrees  until the oil get very hot.  The idea being you want the chicken to sizzle when you add it to the pan. 

While the pan and oil is heating up.  Dredge the drained chicken in the mochiko mixture and set aside.  Really give it a good coating.  When the pan and oil is very hot, quickly add the chicken pieces in single layer (very important) and immediately close the door – let it sizzle!   Lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, check one of the pieces for browning on the bottom.  If it’s brown, then turn them over and cook for another 10 to fifteen minutes until that side is browned!  Remove from oven, blot excess oil, cool completely before packing into your bento box. 

What I love about the mochiko chicken, like most  ”fried” chicken recipes, is that you can add your personal adjustments.  More seasonings… make it spicy… or add some chopped green onions to the mix.  Some recipes have added  eggs to make a batter type coating.  It’s up to you!

I also want to mention that “Mochiko Chicken” is a Hawaii food.  And by that I mean, like Spam musubi, it’s a regional food founded by the mix of  races that came to Hawaii in the “olden days”.   Each ethnic group sharing bit’s and pieces of their homeland recipes to create new ones.    I’m not a food historian and not totally sure of the recipe’s origins,  but I am certainly glad that many years ago, someone thought of frying  some chicken with rice flour!