Hearty Grilled Vegetables and Chicken

Today’s post is about a simple grilled dish you can make using whatever vegetables you have in the fridge: Hearty Grilled Vegetables and Chicken.

I used chicken this time, but you can easily substitute your favorite meat or fish.

You can even make it entirely with vegetables if that’s what you prefer.

Carrots and broccoli add nice color, and including potatoes makes it more filling — so please feel free to use whatever ingredients you like.

Here’s a photo of the finished dish:

I served it with rice, miso soup, and a soft boiled egg.

Just adding one egg boosts the nutritional balance, so when you’re unsure what to pair with it, an egg-based side is an easy solution.

Ingredients

Chicken thigh (or your preferred meat / fish)
Vegetables: potatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc. (choose as you like)
Chicken stock powder (or substitute)
Salt
Black pepper

Instructions

Cut all ingredients into bite-sized pieces.
For hard-to-cook items like potatoes and carrots, pre-cook them in the microwave.
- For example, place cut potatoes and carrots in a microwaveable bowl, microwave at 600W for 5 minutes, stir, then microwave for another 3 minutes.
- Once they’re mostly cooked through, it’s fine to stop there.
Arrange all the ingredients in a heat-safe dish (like a skillet or gratin dish). Season with chicken stock powder and salt.Use a toaster oven or a grill to cook until everything is done and the surface is nicely browned.
Sprinkle with black pepper, and it’s ready to serve!

Here’s how it looks when lightly browned.

You can also use a conventional oven, but because the thickness and amount of ingredients vary, you’ll need to keep an eye on them while cooking.

Soft-Boiled Egg (Onsen Tamago)

I usually make mine using a sous vide, setting it to 66 °C and letting it cook for 30 minutes. It’s super easy that way.

But you can just as easily use a regular pot:

Ingredients

Egg
Water

Method

Fill a pot with enough water to fully submerge the egg (don’t put the egg in yet).
Bring the water to a boil.
Once boiling, turn off the heat. Take a cold egg out of the fridge and gently lower it into the pot with a ladle.
Wait 12 minutes, then remove it and cool it in cold water.

If your egg was at room temperature, the timing might change slightly, so I suggest starting with 12 minutes and adjusting from there. You don’t need to take the pot off the stove when lowering the egg if you’ve already turned off the burner.

When eating, I like to drizzle mentsuyu (a Japanese noodle soup base) over it — simple and delicious!