Karaage: Japanese Fried Chicken

Karaage, meaning “Tang (Chinese) fry” is a Japanese cooking technique in which various foods—most often chicken, but also other meat and fish—are deep fried in oil. The process involves lightly coating small pieces of the meat or fish with a seasoned wheat flour or potato starch mix, and frying in a light oil. Occasionally, the foods are marinated prior to coating with the seasoning mix.

This particular recipe is brought to you by Chef Resha, who we’ve been following for a while. She has an incredible talent for making delicious food dishes and this one is no different. Here’s the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade: 5-6 chicken thighs, deboned, skin left on, cut into chunks 1 teaspoon kosher salt (optional) 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon grated garlic 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1/3 cup soy sauce (if using low-sodium soy sauce, you’ll need to add more salt, otherwise the chicken will be bland) 1/4 cup mirin 1/4 cup sake

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Dredge: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup potato starch 1 teaspoon kosher salt Oil for frying Lemon wedges Lettuce or Cabbage, shredded Japanese Mayo (Kewpie) Rice Seasoning (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, add the chunks of chicken, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Toss gently to combine. Let it sit for about a half hour, to an hour.

Heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a pot or shallow pan to 350 degrees.

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Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, potato starch, and salt. Dredge each piece of chicken…

…thoroughly and set aside on a plate while the oil heats up. When the oil is ready, fry the chicken in batches, as not to reduce the temperature of the oil too drastically — about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from hot oil and let it drain and rest. Once all the chicken is fried, heat the oil to 400 degrees, and give the chicken one last fry for 1-2 minutes max. Drain on paper towels or a rimmed baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Lightly dust with sea salt if needed (taste first).

Serve with lemon wedges, lettuce or cabbage, and Japanese Mayo (Kewpie). Enjoy!