A classic Japanese fried chicken recipe featuring a savory ginger-garlic marinade and a crispy potato starch coating. Can be made vegetarian by substituting chicken with thawing tofu.
60 min
medium
Japanese
Ingredients
lb chicken thigh
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
cup potato starch/corn starch
cup all-purpose flour
neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) — for deep frying
inch ginger
cloves garlic
tbsp soy sauce
tbsp sake (or dry sherry)
tsp sesame oil
tsp sugar
Process
1
process
1.Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the chicken, then stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2.Add 1 inch of vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat until the oil reaches 360 degrees F. Line a wire rack with 2 sheets of paper towels and get your tongs out. Put the potato starch and flour mix in a bowl.
3.Right before the oil is ready, add a handful of chicken to the potato starch and flour mix and toss to coat each piece evenly.
4.Fry the karaage in batches until the exterior is a medium brown and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the fried chicken to the paper towel lined rack.
5.Optional: If you want the karaage to stay crispy longer, you can fry the chicken a second time, until it's a darker color after it's cooled off once. Serve with lemon wedges.