(serves 4)
2 chicken legs and thighs (de-boned, skin on)
1 medium sized daikon radish
1 piece ginger (about 3 oz.)
1 package firm tofu
1 4-inch-square dried konbu seaweed
2 dried anchovies
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 shiso leaves
1/3 jalapeno chile
1/2 cup sake
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS mirin
salt for seasoning the meat
sesame or olive oil
1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water to hydrated them. This will take 10 to 30 minutes depends on the thickness of the mushrooms. When hydrated, cut away the stems and cut the mushroom into half. Save the soaking water.
2. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size pieces and season with salt.
3. Thickly peel daikon radish (or peel it twice) to get rid of the outer fibrous part and cut into batons (2 to 3 inch long, 1/2 inch thick). Slice half of the ginger thinly and grate the rest. (No need to peel it). Squeeze the grated ginger in your hand and catch the "ginger juice" in a small container. Chop the jalapeno chile into a fine dice. Split open the dried anchovies and take away the heads and innards. Put together sake, soy sauce and mirin in a small container.
4. Heat the oil in a pan with medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, put the chicken in the pan skin side down and cook until the skin is a golden brown color. Take out and set aside.
5. Put the daikon and shiitake into the same pan and sauté till the daikon starts to look slightly translucent.
6. Add the konbu, the anchovies, and the ginger slices into the pan. Add shiitake soaking water and more water to cover. Bring to a simmer cover with a parchment paper, and cook until the daikon becomes tender (about 7 minutes).
7. Test the doneness by poking the daikon with a folk. When they can be easily pierced with some resistance, add the sake-mirin-soy sauce mixture and the chicken into the pan. The liquid should half way cover the ingredients. Add water if necessary.
8. Bring to a simmer, cover with parchment paper and cook for 10 minutes.
9. Take out the ginger slices, the konbu, and the anchovies, take away the parchment paper. Make space in a corner and scoop in the tofu using a soup spoon.
10. Turn the heat to high and reduce the liquid. Turn the ingredients gently occasionally. Turn off the heat when the liquid is 1/4 way gone. Add the ginger juice, stir.
11. Transfer to the serving bowls, garnish with the chile and torn shiso leaves.
