Drunken Chicken with Eggplant

This chicken is so moist and bursting with umami flavors! The key is marinating the chicken overnight using Sake. Sake is a fermented rice wine. Don’t be daunted by all the steps, in actuality it’s pretty easy. You will love the final results!

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 package (6) chicken thighs, bone in

Marinade

• 1 cup Sensei or other sake wine
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Gefen Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 cubes Gefen Frozen Garlic
• 2 cubes Gefen Frozen Ginger
• 1 tablespoon silan or honey

• 1 tablespoon red miso paste
• 1 tablespoon Gefen Sesame Oil
• salt
• pepper

Additions

• 3 tablespoons Gefen Sesame Oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Chinese or baby eggplants, cut into long strips

• 1 bunch scallions, washed and cut into long strips

Directions

1. Add the chicken and all the marinade ingredients directly into a large Ziploc bag. (I use a challah bag.) Shake the bag well and leave in the refrigerator overnight. If you forget to marinate it overnight, at least prepare chicken in the marinade for a few hours before cooking.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large nonstick coated cast iron pan, sauté the eggplant strips in the oils until cooked through. Remove the eggplant from the pan and place on the side.

3. Next, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and sauté the thighs in the same hot pan for five minutes a side. Add the marinade back into the pan and continue to cook through for 10 to 12 minutes until it has come to a boil.

4. Cover your pan and place into the oven. Cook at 400 for 40 minutes, and then uncover for another 15 minutes while basting the juices over the chicken pieces until they are golden brown.

5. Take out of the oven and add your sautéed eggplant directly into the pan with the chicken. Top with scallions and serve. Enjoy!