Karaage
Japanese fried chicken is a popular appetizer. This homemade version tastes just like the ones served at restaurants!
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
- peanut oil for frying, (can substitute with canola oil)
- 1 lemon, sliced into wedges (for serving)
Marinade
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dry sake
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
Coating
- 3/4 cup potato starch
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add all marinade ingredients. Whisk until evenly mixed. Add in chicken and stir until chicken is evenly coated in marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place into fridge to allow chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour. You can marinate for several hours or overnight as well.
- In a separate medium bowl, add all coating ingredients. Whisk to evenly mix and break up any potato starch clumps.
- When chicken is ready, roll a piece of chicken in starch coating. Shake off any excess starch. Set chicken aside. Repeat with remaining chicken until they are all coated.
- Add about an inch of oil to pot being used for frying. Bring oil up to 325°F. Leave thermometer in oil so you can monitor and make sure the temperature stays constant through frying process.
- Once oil has reached desired temperature, add about 4 pieces of chicken. Let chicken cook for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from hot oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken, cooking in small batches. Make sure to monitor the temperature of the oil to keep it around 325°F. The oil temperature will drop as you add more chicken in there so you may need to adjust the heating setting. Make sure oil does not drop below 300°F.
- Once all the chicken is done, use a strainer to strain out any crumbs left in the oil. Then raise the heat level to bring the oil temperature up to 365°F.
- Once oil has reached desired temperature, put 4 pieces of chicken back into the pot. Fry for about 1 minute or until chicken is a dark golden brown. Remove chicken from oil and repeat with remaining chicken, keeping the frying to small batches.
- Serve chicken while it is hot. Squeeze lemon wedges over chicken before eating. You can also serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Notes
- Adapted from NY Times Cooking
- Potato starch can be found at Asian supermarkets or online.*
- If you can't find potato starch, you can substitute with corn starch.
- If you are not serving the chicken right away, you may want to consider using a blend of starch and flour. The flour will give the chicken a heavier coating that will stay crunchy a little longer than the starch only coating. More details about this in the post.
- *Some of the product links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
- Because not all of the potato starch batter will stick to the chicken and it is difficult to determine the amount of oil absorbed during cooking, no nutrition information is provided for this recipe.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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