soy ginger chicken bowls

We love these soy ginger chicken bowls inspired by the chashu dan bowls at our favorite ramen shop. Using chicken thighs instead of pork belly make these a little lighter and a super simple weeknight dinner option. Serve the bowls with any green vegetable that you have on hand, or none at all, we’re not your mothers….

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 15 minutes prep, 1 hour total
• Difficulty: easy
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An easy weeknight dinner with tons of flavor.

“You can also place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.”

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 4 whole scallions
• 6 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 knob of ginger (about 2″), sliced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste) – 1 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sake
• 2 cups water

“Serve with 4 cups cooked rice, divided, sliced scallions, pickled ginger and toasted sesame seeds. We always steam a vegetable or two in our rice cookers to go along with the meal, but you could also toss some greens in the bowl and let the heat of the rice wilt them a bit.”

Directions

1. In the bottom of a large heavy bottomed saucepan lay the whole scallion stalks to form a “rack” for the chicken to lay on.
2. Add the chicken thighs, garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes to the pot.
3. Pour the reduced sodium soy sauce, sake, and water into the pot. (If two cups of water is not enough to cover the chicken add more water until it is covered.)
4. Set pot over a medium-high heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
5. Turn heat down to low and simmer chicken until cooked all the way through and tender, about 30-45 minutes.
6. Remove the chicken thighs from the cooking liquid with tongs and place on a cutting board. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine mesh strainer and save for seasoning the chicken.
7. Shred the chicken with two forks into bite size pieces and toss with a little of the reserved cooking liquid.
8. To serve, place one cup of cooked rice in a bowl and top with shredded chicken, sliced scallions, pickled ginger and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. For a complete meal don’t forget a veggie… The best bite is a little bit of everything all at once. Chopsticks optional![/recipe-ingredients]

“You will have a lot of broth leftover and hopefully some shredded chicken as well. Don’t throw it out! Use it for the base of our amazing Asian inspired chicken “zoodle” soup and have an awesome lunch to look forward to!”