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–+ servings

Chicken Zosui (Japanese Rice Soup)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Peel the skin off of 150 g boneless chicken thigh, cut the meat into small pieces and the skin into bitesize pieces.
    chicken skin and bitesize pieces of chicken thigh meat on a wooden chopping board
  • Add 1 tsp cooking oil to a cold pan. Stretch out the chicken skin and place it flat on the oil. Heat on low/medium-low and slowly render out the fat. Once golden, flip and fry until crispy on both sides.
    rendering chicken skin in a pan
  • Remove the crispy skin from the pan and place it on a piece of kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Set aside for later.
    crispy chicken skin on kitchen paper
  • Add the rendered chicken fat, 400 ml dashi stock and 1 tbsp sake to a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and add the chicken thigh.
    chicken cooking in dashi in a black pot on the stove top
  • Place 200 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice in a bowl and fill it with fresh cold water. Swish it around with your hand to gently remove the excess starch and then pour it through a sieve or colander to drain.
    washing rice in a bowl of cold water
  • When the chicken pieces are no longer pink, add the rice, ½ carrot, ¼ Japanese leek (naganegi), 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, 100 g enoki mushrooms, 15 g ginger root and 3 tbsp Japanese light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu).
    julienned vegetables added to chicken zosui broth in a black pot
  • Once the carrots are slightly softened, set a timer for 5 minutes. During this time, crack 2 eggs into a small bowl and whisk.
    eggs whisked in a glass measuring jug
  • After 5 minutes, pour the whisked egg around the pot and set a timer for 30 seconds. When 30 seconds are up, turn off the heat and dish up.
    egg added to chicken zosui in a black pot
  • Garnish with crushed chicken skin, finely chopped green onions, kizami nori (shredded nori) and Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) and a dash of toasted sesame oil. Enjoy!
    One serving of chicken zosui topped with chopped green onions and kizami nori in a green rice bowl

Notes

Use Japanese short-grain rice or Calrose: Long-grain rice (basmati, jasmine) dissolves the moment it touches hot broth and turns the bowl to porridge. Short-grain holds its shape through the 5-minute simmer.
Source skin-on chicken thigh: Lots of supermarket trays usually arrive skinless. Skin is the load-bearing ingredient because the rendered fat is the broth richness. Ask the butcher counter or detour to an Asian grocer.
Render the skin in a cold pan, low heat: Lay the skin pieces flat in a cold pan with 1 tsp oil, set heat to low or medium-low, wait 5 to 7 minutes per side. A hot pan scorches the skin before the fat melts. It's worth the time.
If you want to use regular Japanese soy sauce: Japanese light soy sauce (usukuchi) carries more salt per tablespoon than standard soy (koikuchi), so if you want to use regular soy sauce, use a tiny bt more than the recipe says.
Beat the eggs uniform before pouring: Whisk until the yellow is uniform with no clear ribbons of white, then pour in a slow spiral from the edge of the pot. Uneven beat lands gritty, ribbon-streaked curds.