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Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Posting Date: 03/11/19

Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) has lighter coating than American fried chicken because it uses potato starch. It is also tasty because the diced chicken is marinated. It is normally served as an appetizer but you can also find it in a bento box served with rice and other dishes. My Japanese friends introduced me to karaage and I was hooked because it was tasty, crispy, and light at the same time.

To get crispier coating, some people fry it twice. The first one is at a lower temperature (325 deg F) to cook the chicken. The second one is at a higher temperature (355 deg F) to get crispy coating. If you own an electric deep fryer, it will be easier to fry karaage using it because it has temperature controller and a metal basket which drains excess oil. It is also less messy because there is a cover that prevents splattering during frying.

You can find potato starch in Asian stores. Please note that potato starch is not the same as potato flour. If you cannot find potato starch, you can substitute it with corn starch.

The recipe serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless and skinless chicken thigh, patted dry and cut into bite size. You can use chicken breast but it will not be as juicy as chicken thigh.
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
For marinade sauce: 1" fresh ginger, peeled and grated
For marinade sauce: 5 cloves of garlic, minced
For marinade sauce: 2 tablespoons soy sauce
For marinade sauce: 1 tablespoon sake or dry sherry
For marinade sauce: 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For marinade sauce: 1 teaspoon sugar
vegetable oil to fry chicken
For coating the chicken: 1/2 cup potato starch. You can use corn starch instead. Please note that potato starch is not the same as potato flour.
For coating the chicken: 1/2 cup all purpose flour
For serving: lemon wedges
For serving: Optional: Japanese or regular mayonnaise or honey wasabi mayonnaise dipping sauce

Methods:

Sprinkle the diced chicken with salt and pepper.
Place all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour the marinade sauce in a ziploc bag. Place diced chicken in the ziploc bag. Close the bag. Move the chicken inside the bag so that it is coated evenly with the marinade sauce. Leave the bag in the fridge for at least an hour up to 8 hours.
Remove the chicken from the marinade sauce.
Pour vegetable oil into a deep pot. Make sure you pour enough oil because you will deep fry the chicken. Heat the oil to reach 325 deg F (163 deg C). If you own an electric deep fryer, this is the time to use it because it makes it easier to fry the chicken.
Place potato starch and all purpose flour into a bowl. Whisk it so that it is well combined.
Just before frying, coat the chicken with potato starch and all purpose flour mixture. Once the oil has reached the temperature, shake the chicken off from excess flour. Fry the coated chicken in the oil for 90 sec to 2 min or until it is fully cooked. Make sure you don't overcrowd the pot, so you may have to fry the chicken in several batches. Remove it using metal spider strainer or slotted spoon to drain excess oil. Place the chicken on a plate lined with paper towel. Move the chicken to a cooling rack so that it won't get soggy. Pick up any crumbs in the pot using metal spider strainer so that it won't get burned causing the next chicken batches to get dark color. Continue this step until all coated chicken has been fried.
Once all the chicken pieces have been fried, increase the temperature of the oil so that it reaches 355 deg F (180 deg C).
Once the oil has reached the temperature, fry the chicken in several batches so that it won't overcrowd the pot. Fry it until it is golden brown and crispy (about 1 min). Remove the chicken using metal spider strainer or slotted spoon to drain excess oil. Place the chicken on the plate lined with paper towel. Move the chicken to a cooling rack so that it won't get soggy. Repeat this step until all chicken pieces have been fried.
Serve the chicken with lemon wedges and mayonnaise dipping sauce if preferred.

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