Chef critique
Chicken Yassa with Charred Summer Corn
A cohesive and appetizing take on Chicken Yassa, featuring a smart use of reserved marinade and good food safety practices. A few minor adjustments to the searing method and chicken thigh temperature will elevate the final dish.
Score: 8/10
Suggested fixes
- In step 4, instruct the cook to scrape the excess marinade off the chicken back into the bowl before transferring the chicken to the hot skillet.
- In step 5, change the target temperature for the chicken thighs to 170°F or 175°F.
- Consider increasing the salt in the marinade by 1/4 teaspoon for a better seasoning baseline.
Issues
- medium / cookability: Lifting the chicken directly from the mustard and lemon marinade to sear in hot oil will cause splattering and the mustard may burn. The excess marinade should be scraped off.
- low / flavor: Chicken thighs have a better, more tender texture when cooked to 170°F-175°F, whereas 165°F is safe but can leave the dark meat slightly rubbery.
- low / flavor: 1 1/4 teaspoons of kosher salt across 1 pound of chicken, a large onion, and 2 ears of corn may be slightly underseasoned if the user has Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Strengths
- Excellent food safety handling of the raw chicken marinade by bringing it to a full boil before braising.
- Efficient prep instructions right at the start.
- Accurate tracking of ingredients and their exact divided amounts throughout the steps.
- Cook time estimate aligns perfectly with the active and passive times in the instructions.