I grew up eating Azuki (or adzuki) beans and love them in both sweet and savory dishes. They cook fast and very versatile. Here is my Azuki Chicken – extremely simple stew of these two main ingredients. This humble dish is so tasty and always warms my heart. When it’s cooked in donabe, the ingredients come out so tender and flavors become so deep. While any donabe with enough capacity can cook this dish wonderfully, I especially love using my Roast Donabe. This cute compact donabe has an extra thick body with a sturdy flat lid (with no vent) that helps create optimum insulation and moisture retention. And, as the name suggests, this donabe is great for roasting as this can be heated with no liquid inside.
This dish is made with Roast Donabe. But, any other donabe which can be heated while its empty (dry-heat capable) and has enough capacity can work also. If you are using other type of donabe which is not dry-heat capable, you can sauté the chicken in a separate pan first and transfer to a donabe to finish cooking.
Servings
4Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs (650 g) chicken drumettes
- 1 teaspoon moshio seaweed salt (or regular sea salt)
- 5 oz (150 g) azuki beans, rinsed
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 oz (150 g) shimeji mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) dashi or water
- More moshio seaweed salt (or regular sea salt)
Procedure
- Sprinkle the chicken all over with the 1 tsp moshio sea salt. Let it marinade for a few hours to overnight.
- Combine azuki beans with at least 3 times volume of water in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Drain.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the donabe over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 – 5 minutes (turn once meanwhile) until the chicken is lightly browned.
- Add the azuki, shimeji, sake, mirin, and shoyu, followed by the dashi. Cover with the lid and and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with some more seaweed, if necessary. Turn off the hat and let rest for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Serve into individual bowls and drizzle some olive oil to enjoy.
Tips
Miso-shiru Nabe or or any dry-heat capable donabe with enough capacity can also work with this recipe.
