I don’t know about y’all, but these last few weeks of summer have been…how shall I say it?! Oh, right, “hot as balls”! The last thing I want to do on days as hot as these, is fill up my kitchen with extra heat coming from the oven. With that being said, I still want the added bonus of cooking a whole chicken. We always have leftovers for lunch the next day, and everyone in my house is happy. Queue the good ole’ store bought Rotisserie Chicken!!! Try as I may, I can never duplicate that rotisserie flavor! If I had to choose a favorite, it would be a tie between Whole Foods ‘Mojo’ and Costco’s classic rotisserie (the darker the skin, the better in this house!), and BONUS, picking up the chicken on my way home means that dinner is all but done.
When the weather is this hot, I also don’t necessarily want a heavy meal with a side of mashed potatoes, rice etc… I want something fresh and tasty and quick! Enter this AMAZING dressing/dip/sauce; whatever you want to call it, it’s reeediculously delicious! I found the original recipe in a cook book called ‘My Father’s Daughter’.
If you’re looking for something light, with a TON of flavor, and crazy easy – look no further! This recipe is a ‘Must Try’!!! I will say that one of the ingredients is Miso, and it’s not exactly inexpensive. It’s not horrible, but it ain’t dirt cheap, so I’ve also attached a few more recipes that you can make with the leftover Miso. I use it a lot in my cooking, and I think once you’ve tried it, you’ll be surprised how much flavor it gives dishes (particularly Asian inspired ones) and so good for you. Make sure that for this recipe you buy ‘White Miso Paste’ which is sometimes labeled as “Shiro” Miso paste. We made lettuce wraps with it on this particular day, but I’ve also made it with soba noodles which was equally as yummy!
As always, first things first, let’s get those ingredients ready! Sweet Onion (Vidalia or Walla Walla), Garlic Clove, White Miso Paste, Toasted Sesame Oil, Low Sodium Soy Sauce, UNseasoned Rice Vinegar, Light Mirin (golden in color or clear, not the brown kind), Water, Salt, Pepper, vegetable or grapeseed oil and a touch of sugar.
After giving the onions a rough chop, I literally just threw everything EXCEPT the vegetable oil into my mini blender and gave it all a blitz, until everything was pretty smooth, then I added the vegetable oil and gave it another long blitz until it was smooth and creamy.
While I love my heavy duty blender, my handy handheld blender works great for this!! I bought it a million years ago with my trusty 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond and I use it all the time!!
To make the wrap, just take a large leaf of lettuce (I like using Romaine), and add shredded chicken, sliced red bell pepper, diced or sliced avocado and the dressing to taste! This one was my daughters – mine was BATHED in the dressing and had double the chicken and avocado…hers just happened to look prettier than mine ☺
Miso Dressing
(Adapted from a recipe by Gwyneth Paltrow)
1/3 C peeled and roughly diced Vidalia Onion
1 small or ½ large garlic clove, minced
¼ C plus 1 TBS White Miso (sometimes called Shiro Miso)
1 ½ TBS TOASTED Sesame oil
2 TBS plus 1 tsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
2 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar (make sure you buy the kind that is Unseasoned)
2 TBS Mirin (look for the light colored ones, not the brown kind)
2 TBS Water
small pinch of coarse/kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
¼ C vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
good pinch of sugar
For the Clark Wraps
Romaine Lettuce, separated, washed well and patted dry
Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
1 Haas Avocado, sliced or diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into thin slices
Miso Dressing (above)
** Option B
Toss the dressing (as much or little as you like) with cooked (and cooled – just rinse under cold water once you’ve cooked it) Soba or Udon noodles, shredded Chicken, Red Bell Pepper (also sliced thinly), Freshly chopped cilantro and thinly sliced Cucumber or sugar snap peas. Toss everything well and serve.
Here are some other great recipes using White Miso Paste. Enjoy!!!
Miso Slaw – a healthy alternative to heavier slaws.
Classic Miso Soup
Miso Marinated Salmon with Cucumber Salad
Grilled Chicken Thighs with Spicy Miso Mayo
