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Chicken Karaage- How to make the best Japanese fried chicken

Chicken karaage is the Japanese version of fried chicken that is insanely delicious- light, crisp, full of flavor, and moist. It has a universal flavor that is not too exotic, yet it differs from fried chicken in the US, China, and Indonesia. It is great as a main dish, an appetizer with drinks, an item in the bento box, and perfect for takeaway sets or picnics. It is usually served with lemon juice or mayonnaise.

Karaage chicken was adapted from Chinese cuisine and has assimilated into the Japanese culinary culture. Preparation starts with marinating the bite-sized boneless pieces of chicken thigh meat, lightly coated with potato starch and deep fried until golden brown. Preparation is similar to another crowd-pleaser Japanese food- tempura.

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chicken karaage recipe

How to prepare the perfect karaage

Karaage is easy to make at home. All the ingredients are easy to find in the markets. It only takes fifteen minutes (excluding marination time) to prepare. Here are the steps:

1. Preparation

  1. Chop some ginger and garlic finely.
  2. Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sake in a bowl.
  3. Score the skinless side of the chicken thighs in a crosshatch pattern. Be careful not to cut through the meat.
  4. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces 2.5 cm in length, leaving the skin on it for extra crispiness. Skin-on chicken thighs are best for making karaage.
  5. Marinate with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sake and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

Note

  • Chicken thigh meat is normally used to make karaage as it is more flavorsome and juicier than breast meat. You can ask the butcher to debone the chicken to save time and effort in the kitchen. Although chicken breast can be used for this recipe, thighs have more flavor and are generally moister.
  • Scoring the chicken thighs enables better absorption of the marinade and more even cooking.
  • You can use ginger juice as a substitute for coarsely chopped ginger.
  • You can add freshly ground black pepper and red chili flakes for a spicy version.

2. Deep-frying

  1. Drain off any excess liquid from the chicken. Dredge the chicken meat into the potato starch and wheat flour combination. Dredge each one for the second time in the flour to get an even and sufficient coating.
  2. Leave them aside, then dip them in the flour again.
  3. Pour sufficient vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or wok enough to submerge all the chicken pieces. The oil temperature should be around 360 °F /180 °C.
  4. Shake off the excess flour. Place the chicken pieces in the hot oil cheerfully. Try not to crowd the pan, so they have enough space to move around.
  5. Deep-fry the chicken until cooked and it turns golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally with chopsticks to avoid the chicken pieces sticking together.
  6. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon once they turn golden brown.
  7. Drain the chicken pieces on a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels.
  8. Serve with lemon wedges and a dipping sauce. Kewpie mayo is the most common dipping sauce for karaage.

Note:

  • Double dredging of flour makes the chicken extra crispy.
  • Chicken thighs have a larger margin of tolerance to heat than chicken breasts, which are prone to dryness, so you can fry them a little longer until they’re extra golden brown and crispy. If you do not serve them immediately after deep-frying, you can fry the chicken a second time for a minute to regain crispiness.
  • If you want to make the karaage crispier, try using the double frying method. First, use medium heat, about 150 degrees Celsius, to deep-fry the karaage until light brown. Then a higher temperature of 190 degrees Celsius to deep-fry the chicken until golden brown, which will take another minute. It is best to use an instant-read thermometer to control the temperature. This method will yield very crispy chicken.
  • To deep fry the chicken, you must use vegetable oil with a high smoke point. Peanut oil is my favorite, but you can also use other oil, such as corn oil or canola oil.

Japanese chicken karaage is best for a side dish or an appetizer. Karaage tastes just as good when it is cold. It is perfect for lunch boxes or at a summer picnic.

Storage

Chicken karaage can be frozen and uncooked. Store the marinated chicken in a freezer bag or an airtight plastic container. When you want to deep-fry the karaage, defrost the chicken in the fridge and continue to deep fry.

score the chicken karaage
Score the chicken
marinate chicken karaage
Marinate the chicken
dredge chicken karaage in flour
Dredge chicken in flour
drain oil of karaage chciken
Drain away the oil
chicken karaage
left:- potato starch     right- wheat flour

Which is the best coating for karaage- potato starch, cornstarch, or wheat flour?

Original Japanese karaage is deep-fried by coating the chicken with potato starch or a mix of potato and wheat flour. The potato starch creates a lasting layer of crispy coating around the karaage, making it perfect for bento lunch even after it becomes cold.

Cornstarch is a good alternative to potato starch, where potato starch is hard to get. Cooks have developed various combinations of potato starch, corn flour, and wheat flour for karaage recipes. These flours are used by native Japanese, too, and all produce good results, albeit results may vary in texture and the degree of crispiness.

The following is a simple taste test of three combinations for the coating of karaage- potato starch, cornstarch, and a mix of potato starch and wheat flour to find out which one I prefer. The appearance and color of all combinations are identical after deep-frying with the same pot of oil, temperature, and duration.
Cornstarch alone has a denser and crunchy texture than wheat and cornstarch after cooling for 15 minutes.
Karaage with potato flour and potato/wheat flour combination have a slight feeling of raw flour to bite, which I prefer as it is a nice feeling in the mouth.
The coating of potato and corn flour without the wheat flour is denser, whereas the combination of potato starch has the lightest and crispy crust.

Chicken karaage
Four different combinations of flour

My choice: The potato starch/wheat flour combination is the best. I like the slightly floury feeling to bite and the light and crispy crust compared to corn flour alone.

And that is why I use a combination of potato starch and wheat flour in my recipe. The difference is marginal. You can use any of the combinations to achieve the result mentioned above.

Recipe for Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Yield: 2

Chicken Karaage- Japanese fried chicken

Chicken Karaage- Japanese fried chicken

This is an easy Japanese recipe that takes 15 minutes to cook.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sake in a bowl.
  2. Score the skinless side of the chicken in a crosshatch pattern. Be careful not to cut through the meat.
  3. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces 2.5 cm in length, leaving the skin on it for extra crispiness.
  4. Marinate with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sake and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
  5. Drain off any excess liquid from the chicken. Then, dredge the chicken meat into the potato starch and wheat flour combination.
  6. Leave them aside, then dip them in the flour again.
  7. Pour at least a 1.5-inch layer of vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or wok and heat the oil to up 360 °F (180 °C).
  8. Deep fry the chicken until cooked and golden brown for about 5-7 minutes. Stir occasionally with chopsticks to avoid the chicken pieces sticking together.
  9. Drain the chicken pieces on a plate lined with a paper towel.
  10. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

2 servings

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 931Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 320mgSodium: 1029mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 68g

The data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 6/1/2019

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[…] similar to the Hainanese pork chops, here are the links to the recipes that you might interested: Chicken karaage- Japanese fried chicken Chicken katsu recipe- How to make the best Japanese fried […]

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Saturday 28th of October 2017

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Saturday 28th of October 2017

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KP Kwan

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Thursday 27th of April 2017

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KP Kwan

Thursday 27th of April 2017

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Rose

Tuesday 6th of December 2016

Thank you for this recipe, it is very good!

KP Kwan

Tuesday 6th of December 2016

Dear Rose,

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KP Kwan

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