Chicken With Garlicky Lemony Anchovy Sauce

Usually one or two anchovies would do in a dish. However, this time not only I'm making bigger portion, but also making anchovies the key component here. That means, I don't want the anchovies just be like a back note or a hint of the savory depth. Instead, I want anchovies to shine. I want that umami-packed anchovies to be quite noticeable.

If someone take a bite of this chicken dish, whoever is familiar with canned anchovy should be aware of it right away. That salty savoy pop. Very yummy.

Chicken with garlicky lemony anchovy sauce - 

Ingredients?

• 740 grams boneless skin-on chicken thigh
• 1 small can/about 29 grams solid weight anchovies in olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons capers
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 1 lemon
• 1 small bundle/about 20 grams flat leaf parsley
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

How?

Thoroughly feel the chicken with your fingertips. Make sure there are no fragments of bone remain anywhere. Trim-off any excess fat then slice the chicken to medium bite size pieces. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and black pepper. Set them aside while we start prepping other ingredients.

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Use the leafy part of the parsley only, give it a rough chop. Slice the lemon into wedges.

Take out a big pan, I like to use stainless steel pan for any sort of western dishes that requires quite the amount of searing. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and switch to medium heat.

While the oil temperature hasn't rise up significantly, add in chopped garlics along with 2 teaspoons of capers and 1/2 teaspoon of dried red chili flakes. Also add in one small can of anchovies in oil, but just the anchovies. The one I used was marked as 29 grams solid weight, so I think that's just about the same weight for the actual anchovies inside.

The oil temperature should slowly rise up. Give all the bits inside the pan a few mixes. Continue to move around these ingredients till the anchovies start to break apart and nearly melt away.

Move these bits to the edge of the pan then transfer the chicken to the center skin side down. Sear till you feel the bottom starts to turn golden brown. Flip and sear the other side till golden brown too.

Once the other side seems to set and golden, squeeze in some lemon juice, about 1 tablespoon. Also add in most of the chopped parsley. Mix and cook a little bit longer, or till you are certain all the chicken pieces have been fully cooked. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Once all checked, plate and sprinkle the remaining parsley throughout. Serve with one or two more lemon wedges on the side. 

Note that we didn't use additional salt during the actual cooking steps. It's because we already sprinkle salt and black pepper on raw chicken, also remember that canned anchovies can be quite salty too, especially with the amount used in this recipe.

By the way, I haven't write about wine pairing for a long time (don't drink and drive), but based on my experience I think this dish will go very well with some nicely chilled riesling, or oaked chardonnay. 

Other recipes using canned anchovies:

• Salmon and chorizo in tangy tomato sauce
• Pasta al tonno (pasta with tomatoes, capers, and canned tuna)

Burdock Root and Beef Stir-Fry in White Miso Sansho Seasonings

Some people prefer to soak the burdock root in water right after cutting or slicing. The main reason is to prevent the burdock root from browning, perhaps better preserve its earthy aroma too. 

However, since we are going to stir-fry the burdock root in miso and soy sauce based seasonings, the darker color doesn't really matter much. Flavor-wise, at least I can't really detect any loss of that burdock root's distinct earthy aroma. So it's totally up to you if you would like to go that extra mile to soak the burdock root in water.

Burdock root and beef stir-fry in white miso sansho seasonings - 

Ingredients?

• 1 long stick burdock root
• 280 grams beef slices
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 1 string scallion
• 1 tablespoon white sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sansho powder (山椒粉)

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons white miso
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon mirin (味醂)

How?

Premix all the ingredients listed under the "sauce" section and set aside for later use.

Scrape and finely chop the ginger, we will need about 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger in the end. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Slice the scallion diagonally, this is only for the garnish in the end, so I only listed one "string" of scallion needed, not one "stalk" of scallion on the ingredient list.

It's up to you if you would like to peel the burdock root. Use a knife to shave the burdock root, the motion is similar to shaving the pencil in an old fashioned way, but of course with enlarged version of burdock root and knife. It's normal to get uneven thickness of burdock root shavings in the end, don't worry too much about it. We will need about one big bowl of prepped burdock root in the end.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of white sesame oil to a pan or wok, switch to medium heat. Once warmed up, add in beef slices and sear till about 70% doneness. Scoop out first.

Add more oil to the pan or wok if needed, otherwise add in the ginger and garlic. Sear till aromatic but not burning the garlic bits.

Transfer burdock root shavings over. Stir-fry for couple minutes.

Pour in premixed sauce, give it a few stirs to even out the seasonings. Cook for couple more minutes too.

Add back the beef and give it a few mixes. Continue to cook till the sauce has been reduced a bit. Taste and adjust if needed. Once all checked, sprinkle in about 1 teaspoon of sansho powder. Give it a few stirs. Taste again and see if you prefer an even stronger sansho aroma. In that case, simply sprinkle more sansho powder all over. 

Plate and garnish with the scallion we prepped earlier.

Burdock root is not only rich in fiber and potassium, but also with good amount of antioxidants and inulin. I would love to include such ingredient in my cooking more often. It's just that preparing burdock root can be quite a hassle for me.

I could have just cut and slice the burdock root with my knife, like making chunks or juliennes of it. But to me the best texture is by "shaving" the burdock root, kind of like sharpening a pencil, just with much bigger knife instead. And that shaving step can be very strenuous, which causing me to deter from cooking burdock root most of the time.

Well, I guess I can try to use a food processor do the slicing work. I haven't tried and not sure how well it'll work on burdock root. But even if food processor can handle the job, that means I have more cleaning to do in the end. I guess just treasure the times when burdock root does show up on my dinner table. Once in a blue moon I'll be interested enough to take on the challenge and work my arms for some nicely shaved burdock root. 

Other recipes using sansho powder:

• Braised tofu in vegetable stock and sansho powder
• Sansho pork onigiri