Perfect Char
t akar, the 12-seat, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it boîte along Wydown in Clayton, owner-chef Bernie Lee (meaning fork roasted). This season, Lee marinates an airline chicken breast overnight in a straightforward sauce (soy, hoisin, rice wine, garlic, Chinese five-spice, brown sugar) and then sears it to crisp the skin and seal in the juices before finishing in the oven. (“I can’t tell you exactly how we do it, but it’s as tender as if cooked sous vide, ” Lee says.) Accompaniments include Japanese black rice laced with a scallion/ginger jam, pickled fresno peppers, and smoked-then-charred broccolini, seasoned with salt, white pepper, and sugar. “Familiar and unfamiliar flavors result in an umami bomb, which was just what we wanted, ” Lee says.
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