Nuno Mendes's braised chicken with shiitake mushrooms

The longer you marinade the chicken, the better this dish will be.

(Serves 2-4)
6-8 chicken thighs
125g dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
3-4 rashers of streaky, smoky bacon
3-4 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp caster sugar
700ml water or light chicken stock
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
Handful of mushrooms, raw, thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil

For the marinade:
8 tbsp Japanese light soy sauce
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp rice wine
Juice of half a lemon

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and heat to dissolve the sugar. Keep half aside to season the broth, and marinade the chicken with the other half for at least 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken and sear skin side down, being careful not to burn. Once the skin has a nice colouring, turn it and sear the underside.

Add the shiitake caps for a couple of minutes, then add the bacon, sherry vinegar, sugar and the remaining marinade. Top up with water or chicken stock until the meat is covered. Bring to a boil, put on a lid, then reduce the heat to cook gently over a low heat until the chicken is very soft.

Remove the mushrooms and bacon from the pot, slice and add them back in. Remove the chicken, reduce the liquid and season. Serve the chicken in a deep bowl with the sauce, garnish with raw mushrooms and cucumber, and drizzle with olive oil.