Tonight’s Dinner: Teriyaki chicken with stone fruit salsa

Peaches and plums are delicious on their own, in a fruit salad or pie. But add some soy sauce and ginger and you’ve got a deliciously savory salsa.

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There’s a great little restaurant in the next town over from where I live called The Depot. I’ve eaten there a few times and the food is always excellent. But what makes them one of my favorite restaurants in the area are these cooking classes the head chef holds once a month. While I don’t attend every class, those that I have gone to have always given me several new ideas for recipes. The last class I attended was no different.

We went to the local farmer’s market, learned about the fresh produce, picked out several fruits and vegetables and then went back to the restaurant and cooked with everything we’d purchased. I learned a lot including how to take those sweet fruits and turn them into savory entrées. Like did you know dates aren’t just for snacking? You can chop them up and add them to squash for a deliciously savory side. And I usually only have peaches and pluots when they’re inside a pie. But Chef Shafer explained that by simply adding some pickled ginger and soy sauce you could turn those sweet peaches into a savory salsa that could go over anything from pork, to chicken, to plain white rice. It was such an easy salsa to make and added a such a level of complexity to the dish, I’m definitely making this salsa again.

Teriyaki Chicken with Stone Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sweet soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups of white rice
• 2 peaches, chopped
• 3 pluots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon pickled ginger, chopped
• 1/8 cup of low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup hari nori

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet soy sauce, grated ginger, and rice vinegar. Pour marinade into a large re-sealable bag. Add the chicken and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. While the chicken marinates, cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
4. While the rice cooks, toss together the peaches, pluots, pickled ginger, soy sauce, and sesame seeds in a large bowl and set aside.
5. Transfer the chicken to a large baking dish and roast for 30 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, slice it into long strips. Spoon 1/2 cup of rice onto each dish. Lay the strips of chicken over the rice. Spoon 1/4-1/3 cup of peach salsa on top of each chicken breast, sprinkle with hari nori and serve.

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