Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Mush…Roomy

Pan Fried Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

_DSC1511The La Branche French restaurant in  Aoyama, Tokyo which opened in 1986 has a well supported fan base. The understated yet polished décor is lovely. The owner chef Kazuhisa Tashiro (田代和久) is always in a creative mode. I’m glad to encounter one of his concoction introduced in an old magazine.

No fancy ingredients are necessary and the relative simplicity is what we like about this recipe. One of these days. I will make just the soup because the soup itself is very satisfactory with freshly baked bread for a cool Autumn night.

Ingredients and instruction to make 4 servings_DSC1477

First make mushroom sauce/soup

  • Garlic 4-6 cloves minced, divided
  • Onion  minced to make up 1/2 cup or less
  • Mushroom 5-6 minced plus 5-6 mushrooms cut in half
  • Butter 1 Tablespoon
  • Olive oil 1 Tablespoon plus 1 Tablespoon
  • Chicken broth 1-1/2 cup or use vegetable broth if you want a vegetarian option
  • Cream 1-1/2 cup
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Heat butter and oil in a thick sauce pan at medium heat. Add 2/3rd of minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (careful to not burn the garlic)_DSC1481.
  2. Add onion and minced mushroom to the pan and sauté at low heat for 15 minutes
    ._DSC1482
  3. Pour in broth and cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Note: if the sauce is too thin add thickening agent (mixture of 1 teaspoon corn starch and 2 Tablespoons water) to thicken._DSC1485

Making topping

  • Minced Italian parsley about 2 Tablespoons

Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick pan and sauté the mushroom halves for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the minced garlic and Italian parsley and sauté  for additional 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside._DSC1489

Pan fried chicken

  • 4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil 1 Tablespoon (optional)
  1. Rub salt, pepper and olive oil all over the chicken – I score skin lightly with knife for more flavoring
    ._DSC1500
  2. Clean the pan used for making the topping with a paper towel. Heat the cleaned pan then place chicken skin side down and fry for 10 minutes until it develops a deep golden brown color.
  3. Flip the chicken and cook through at low heat for about 6-7 minutes. You want to aim for crispy outside, juicy inside._DSC1508

Assembly

Ladle the soup in the bowl then place several pieces of sautéed mushroom on top along with the pan fried chicken. Garnish with Italian parsley for color. It’s tricky to eat bone in chicken with soup, remove the bone before placing on the soup if you like._DSC1522

I served the chicken with Charles’s crusty ‘No knead bread' my husband baked. It was mighty fine!_DSC1514_DSC1529_DSC1521

Someone rang our door bell and dashed to run away! We were Booed! The chocolate treat and lollypop ghosts are a really fun surprise!_DSC1471_DSC1472.

My friend showed up with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers yesterday. I accepted that my father is gone but the beauty of flowers and the kindness of my friend melted into my core._DSC1535 She also brought me belated birthday presents I absolutely adore. _DSC1543Gifts like these encourage me to continue food blogging a little longer against the objections of Martha Stewart. No, I don’t have a Ph.D. in food preparation nor 50 assistances however I hope my 30 some years of cooking count for something…but hey, you’re expert, so whatever.

 

 

22 comments:

  1. The soup looks delicious! Is it pretty light, or is it very heavy?

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    1. It's not heavy but creamy. Thank you for your comment Jin.

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  2. I probably shouldn't have read this right before dinner. Now I just want to devour everything in sight!!! It looks so delicious!! Going to make it for sure.

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  3. O.M.G. that looks SO delicious, I just had to jump in and comment even though we don't know each other! (found you through Jalna's blog)

    Mahalo for sharing, even though I hate to cook, I think I'll try this recipe.

    Aunty

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I find your tips on flying first class was informative.

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    2. Aloha Nippon Nin,

      I actually cooked the other day, inspired by this recipe! It was a little different and didn't look as good, but it was delicious!!! Or so said the family, except for Uncle who said it was too salty (bah, humbug sometimes.)

      Can I link to/use your recipe on my site? I will also have the one that I did with a few missing and added ingredients - just because I used what I had.

      Please let me know, and mahalo nui loa!!

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    3. Ha ha ha! You're so funny! Wow! yes and thank you!

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  4. Looks so yummyly delicious. The gifts from your friend looks so beautiful too. Continue on having a wonderful day:)

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    1. Thank you Annie. Have a wonderful day/week too.

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  5. The dish looks fabulous! So comforting and elegant at the same time. And old-fashioned stylish meal. Bravo!
    As for Martha Stewart... I have never bought any of her books (apparently she edits some magazine too), but after what I read in the link text, I never will. Even not a second hand stuff. She certainly isn't a specialist in PR: she must have lost all her blogging fans who bought her books with this (and many other people who appreciate cookery blogs).

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    1. Thank you Sissi. I spent 2 hours checking 'okonmiyaki' recipes other bloggers posted from your blog links. It was so fun and now I'm craving for okonmiyaki!

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  6. Ooooh your food and your photos are unbelievable. You belong in Bon Appetit Magazine. And I agree with Sissi . . . I have never been into Martha Stewart, and more so now after reading the link.

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    1. Thank you so much Jalna. I wish bon appetit magazine have a job opening.

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  7. Nice golden brown crusted pan fried chicken with creamy mushrooms sauce is simply mothwatering!
    you pale it like a michelin restaurant chef did too..
    well done!

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  8. that is delicious, i am going to try out your recipe.

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  9. Thank you! I enjoyed the amazing photos of Great Wall.

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  10. A fabulous dish! Really mothwatering and refined tasting. I'm hungry now...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  11. これおいしそう!マッシュルームを細かく刻んだソースかー。今日似たような材料で何を作ったらいいのか分からず、かぼちゃのシチューになってしまいました。次回は絶対にこれ作ります。みてるだけでおいしそう。で、シンプルなのがまたもっと嬉しい!

    明美さんがお料理教室開いたら、私是非生徒になりたいです!!

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    1. Are you kidding? You're the master. Thank you so much for your compliment.

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