This oven-baked chicken recipe comes out tender, juicy, perfectly seared, and brightly flavored. It gets an extra boost from the unexpected marinade of my homemade miso blend with pickled Japanese plums. Ume Miso Chicken is so good, you’ll call it a dinner winner!
Ever since I made a few jars of homemade Ume Miso, I’ve been discovering many creative ways to use the condiment in my cooking. I love it in a salad dressing, in onigiri rice balls, and as an amazing marinade for fish or meat dishes like this Ume Miso Chicken (梅味噌チキン).
Thanks to the unique miso blend and the tangy ume plums, the chicken is unbelievably savory, sweet, fruity, aromatic, and dimensional. It’s not a flavor anyone can forget. My family calls it the most exciting chicken dinner that I’ve made this summer.
What is Ume Miso
If you have been following food trend, you’re probably very familiar with miso by now. These days you can find this Japanese staple seasoning in major grocery stores, but did you know you can also make a flavored miso at home?
For Ume Miso, it is basically a homemade blend that combines your favorite miso paste with fresh green ume plums, and sugar. I made the miso blend with Hikari Miso’s Enjuku Koji Miso which has as a natural sweetness and robust umami. Once I mixed in the green ume plums and sugar, I let it sit and ferment for a month or two before it was ready to use. Now the mixture has matured, it’s been a joy to enjoy the homemade miso blend in everything!
How to Make Ume Miso Chicken
This particular recipe works best with bone-in chicken thighs, because the chicken stays juicier. If you have the homemade ume miso ready, it will be the easiest yet delicious chicken you ever made.
Ingredients You’ll Needs
- Homemade ume miso
- Ume plums from homemade ume miso
- Chicken thighs (I use boneless, but skin-on thighs)
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Make the marinade with ume miso and ume plums.
- Slather ume miso onto chicken and let marinade for at least half a day.
- Bake in the oven and broil at the end to give a nice char.
What to Serve with Ume Miso Chicken
Just like any other Japanese main dish, we follow one soup three dishes menu called Ichiju Sansai whenever we plan a meal. You will need a type of miso soup, steamed rice, a pickle dish, and one to two vegetable sides.
More Delicious Japanese-Flavored Chicken You’ll Love:
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Ume Miso Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp Homemade Ume Miso
- 2 pieces ume from ume miso
- 2 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, add 4 Tbsp Homemade Ume Miso and 2 pieces ume from ume miso. With a pair of scissors, cut the ume into small bits and discard the seeds.
- Prick the skin of 2 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs with a fork (so the flavor penetrates).
- Season both sides of the chicken with¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Put the chicken in a plastic bag and add the ume miso. Knead the chicken well from outside the bag. If you‘re not using a plastic bag, use a clean hand to knead the chicken so the flavors will go deep into the meat.
- Remove the air and seal the bag. Marinate for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight. You can marinate up to 24 hours but not more (as it gets too salty).
- Line the baking sheet with foil and spray/brush with oil. Place the chicken on the baking sheet, skin side up.
- Bake in a preheated 400ºF (200ºC) oven for 20–25 minutes. Then, change to the broiler setting and cook for 5 minutes until the chicken pieces are nicely browned and charred. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for 1 month.
This looks wonderful, but like many others I cannot find ume where I live. Do you think using an ume-extract like the Korean Beksul mixed with the miso could produce a decent approximation?
Hello, Marcus. Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying out her recipe.
We haven’t tried this recipe with ume extract before, so we’re unsure about the outcome. If you decide to give it a try, please let us know how it turns out!
This looks so good! However, I usually can’t find ume where I live, can one do this with plain miso and sugar? Can I substitute another ingredient for the ume? Appreciate any tips!
Hi Nicole! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Yes. You can make the marinade sauce just using miso and sugar, but the Ume play the main role in this recipe.
How about making Miso Chicken using homemade All-Purpose Miso Sauce?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/miso-chicken/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/all-purpose-miso-sauce/
We hope this helps!
Thank you!! I’ll give that a try!
Hi Namiko, This recipe sounds so good! I would love to try it, unfortunately I do not have a batch of ume miso. I will try and make it next year ;). Can we sub in chopped up store bought ume in the miso? Maybe hachimitsu ume?
Hi Carol! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Do you mean to use the store-bought Umeboshi? If so, Umeboshi is salted, and it has a red shiso flavor. It would be a little different taste.
However, you can try this as a substitute for Ume Miso: 2~3 Tbsp Miso, 1 Umeboshi, 2 Tbsp Mirin, 1 Tbsp Sugar. Mix well and simmer in low heat until it gets warm-up and starting to boil.
We hope this helps!🙂