Japan · Meat Dishes
Chicken Karaage
Japan's much-loved fried chicken: bite-sized thigh pieces marinated in soy, ginger, garlic, and sake, dredged in potato starch, and double-fried to a pale, craggy, glass-crisp shell.
Ingredients
- chicken600 g
- soy sauce45 ml
- ginger20 g
- potato starch80 g
- garlic3 pcs
- sake30 ml
- sesame oil10 ml
- sugar5 g
- egg1 pcs
- vegetable oil800 ml
- lemon1 pcs
Method
- 1Cut the chicken thighs into large bite-sized pieces, about 4 cm across and 30–35 g each (600 g gives 18–20 pieces); try to keep them a similar size so they cook at the same rate. Keep the skin on, as it fries up crisp and is half the pleasure of karaage.
- 2Make the marinade: mix the soy sauce, grated ginger, grated garlic, sake, sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl. Add the chicken and massage the marinade in. Leave for 20 to 30 minutes; longer than an hour and the soy makes the texture mealy.
- 3Just before frying, add the egg to the marinated chicken and mix — it helps the starch coating cling and stay crisp.
- 4Put the potato starch in a shallow dish. Lift each piece of chicken out, letting excess marinade drip off, and dredge it thoroughly in the starch, pressing so it coats every side. Shake off the excess.
- 5Heat the oil to 160°C for the first fry. Fry the chicken in batches for about 90 seconds — it won't be fully cooked or deeply coloured yet. Remove and rest on a rack for 3 to 4 minutes.
- 6Raise the oil to 190°C for the second fry. Return the chicken and fry for another 45 to 60 seconds until deep golden and shatteringly crisp. Colour alone does not tell you the centre is done: cut open the largest piece or check it with a thermometer — the meat should reach 74°C in the middle, with clear juices and no pink. If it is not there yet, give the batch a little longer in the oil. The double fry is what gives karaage its signature crunch.
- 7Drain on a rack, not paper, so the bottoms stay crisp. Serve hot with lemon wedges to squeeze over, and a bowl of rice and shredded cabbage alongside.