Sous Vide Crispy Chicken Thighs with Ginger-Scallion Noodles

Anova Culinary

Ginger scallion sauce is one of those magical condiments that makes just about any dish pop. It is especially good mixed with earthy soba noodles, which I’ve paired with one of my favorite sous vide proteins: crispy chicken thighs. The trick is to use boneless skin-on chicken thighs. Removing the bone allows you to press the sous vide chicken flat in a skillet to sear before serving, which yields maximum contact area for the skin. If you can’t find skin-on boneless thighs, you can ask your butcher to remove the bone for you, or you can do it yourself. Note: To de-bone the chicken thighs, first flip the thigh skin side down. Locate the bone. (It should be obvious.) Using the tip of a sharp knife, make an incision down the length of the bone. Gradually peel the chicken meat away from the bone by making short, quick, flicking cuts with the tip of the knife. Grab one end of the bone and pull it off of the meat, again making short flicking motions with the knife. Once the bone has been pulled away from the meat, cut the second end of the bone from the thigh. Trim off any remaining cartilage or fat from the thigh. If you can't find ponzu sauce, you can make a substitute at home by mixing together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons mirin.

Author

Kate Itrich-Williams

Prep Time: 00:25

Recipe Time: 01:30

Temperature : 160F / 71.1C

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 160ºF (71.1ºC).
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with the ginger slices, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce. Toss to coat. Transfer to a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting.
  3. Place the bag in the water bath and set the timer for 1 1/2 hours.
  4. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce: Combine the scallions, grated ginger, olive oil, sesame oil, ponzu sauce, lime juice, sugar, rice vinegar, and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix well, and season with salt to taste, if desired.
  5. About 10 minutes before the chicken is finished, prepare the soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse under warm water to remove excess starch.

Finishing Steps

  1. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard cooking liquid. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels.
  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken, skin side down. Press the chicken flat using a spatula. Sear the chicken until the skin is deeply browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, let rest for 5 minutes, and slice into thin strips.
  3. Toss the cooked soba noodles with the bell pepper and 1/2 cup ginger scallion sauce. Taste, and add more ginger scallion sauce to taste. Divide the noodles between four bowls and top each portion with sliced chicken. Serve.