Kinako, or roasted soybean powder, has a marvelous nutty aroma between peanuts and hazelnuts, and it's a classic seasoning for traditional Japanese confections like mochi and dango.
I've always been a rule breaker, though, and when something is typically used a certain way, I often wonder what would happen if I flipped its role. That's how I found myself dusting these bite-sized nuggets of chicken with the Japanese equivalent of cocoa powder. Marinating the chicken with sake and salt infuses a ton of umami into the savory meat, making a delightful contrast to the nutty kinako crust.
The kinako-crusted chicken turned out pretty amazing on its own, but after taking a bite, I thought of an even more crazy idea. When used in dessert, kinako is almost always paired with kuromitsu (literally black syrup). I'm a big fan of drizzling a little honey on my KFC, and I couldn't help but wonder what a drizzle of this earthy syrup would do for the chicken.
LOTS, as it turns out! The sweetness adds another dimension bringing the salty chicken and nutty soybean flour into balance, and the dish ends up tasting even more Japanese (think earthy teriyaki).
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Kathy Stroup says
This is so simple, but so incredibly good! My husband and I were fighting over the pieces even before the plate was half empty. The magical umami of the sake interacts with the nutty goodness of the kinako, and the chicken gives it a rich canvas to display its addictive flavors.
I made my own kuromitsu from Okinawa Black Sugar; the earthy, minerally molasses notes perfectly complimented the kinako and toned down the fattiness of the chicken. The kuromitsu tasted very similar to maple syrup, but with more notes of iron and acidity.
This one will be repeated frequently!
Marc Matsumoto says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this one. This is one of those recipes that really excites me in the way I got excited when I first added vanilla beans to a crab bisque over 20 years ago and got hooked on the idea of using "dessert" ingredients for savory dishes.