Japanese Chicken Doria (Baked Rice Gratin with Miso Cream Sauce)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Japan's favorite comfort-food casserole: a bed of buttery soy-seasoned rice, tender chicken and mushrooms, a silky miso-spiked white sauce, and a bubbling cheese-and-panko crust. Everything layers into one baking dish and goes in the oven together, so it feeds six on a weeknight and reheats beautifully the next day.

Ingredients

• 6 cup cooked short-grain white rice, cooled
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp white miso paste

• 2 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Rub a 9x13-inch baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the butter. In a large bowl, toss the cooled rice with 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon soy sauce until every grain is coated, breaking up any clumps with your fingers.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook 7 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it has cooked off. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring, until the chicken is white on the outside (it finishes in the oven). Scrape into a bowl.
3. Return the skillet to medium heat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in the milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then simmer 4 to 5 minutes, whisking, until the sauce thickly coats the whisk. Off the heat, whisk in the miso and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce until smooth.
4. Press the buttered rice into the baking dish in an even layer. Spoon the chicken and mushrooms over the rice, then pour the sauce over the top and spread it to the edges with the back of a spoon so it seals in the filling.
5. Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the sauce, then sprinkle the panko on top. Bake, uncovered, for 22 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the chicken is cooked through.
6. Switch the oven to broil and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, watching closely, until the panko is deep golden and the cheese is blistered in spots.
7. Let the casserole rest 5 to 10 minutes so the sauce sets enough to scoop, then shower with sliced scallions and serve.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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