Mush…Roomy

Pan Fried Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

The 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

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).
2. Add onion and minced mushroom to the pan and sauté at low heat for 15 minutes
   .
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.

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.

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
   .
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.

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.

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

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

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. She also brought me belated birthday presents I absolutely adore. Gifts 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.