My Go-To Marinade for Chicken Is 3 Ingredients

It’s That Simple is our series about recipes so easy, you can make them with your eyes closed. Think tiny ingredient lists, laid-back techniques, and results so delicious you’ll text home about them.By all logic I should be sick of this chicken. I have cooked it, give or take, a hundred times. When I don’t know what to make for dinner—or, honestly, don’t want to make dinner at all—it is there for me, like a gentle friend.The marinade is deceptively simple: equal parts miso and honey, plus a glug of soy sauce. Nothing more. There’s no gotcha moment, no pepper hiding in plain sight or olive oil I forgot to account for. The flavor excels because each ingredient punches above its weight. Both fermented, the miso and soy sauce add umami depth, while honey supplies sweetness and makes the chicken glossy, like ceramics pulled straight from the kiln.I’m often deflated when I see the word marinade in a recipe. No, I don’t have time for “at least an hour” or, more likely, the dreaded “preferably overnight.” Don’t they know it’s a Tuesday? This marinade, mercifully, is immediate. Because it is more of a paste than a liquid, you can slather it directly onto the chicken before hurling the baking sheet into the oven. (Of course, if you’re the type of person who has the wherewithal to start meal prep the night before, that works too.)A short stint under the fierce heat of the broiler transforms the miso coating into a burnished, sticky crust in 15-ish minutes while you work on the rest of the meal. Old-school drawer-style broilers can get a little overexcited, so start peeking in after 10 minutes. Now is not the time to check the mail or start a load of laundry.This chicken shines with rice tucked underneath, which catches every saucy streak. But you could build it out with roasted vegetables. Sometimes I’ll add oiled-up broccoli or asparagus to the baking sheet. Other times it’s just the chicken, with a shower of scallions if I’m feeling fancy. Then I make it all again next week.Save this three-ingredient marinade for nights when you just can’t.View Recipe