This is another dish I used to buy from the local Japanese grocer like pirikara. I heard it is a very classic dish found at any Japanese home, bento box, street food stall, or restaurant. When I followed some online recipe and made this dish by myself, I realized how delicious it could be. The one I bought from the grocer had been sealed in the package and stored in cold temperature for hours. By the time I used it, I had to warm it up in a microwave. It still tastes good. However, the freshly made one tastes like a totally different dish. It has exceptional flavor as the inside is juicy and tender while the outside (shell) is crispy.
In Japan, this dish is called karaage which refers to a cooking technique involving deep frying flour coated ingredients. Even though you could have fish or vegetable karaage, nowadays, karaage usually refers to chicken karaage. My recipe is close to a traditional karaage recipe in which minimum marination is used.
Even though, I am not a big fan of deep-fried food and deep frying, the ingredients and technique used in this dish is simple. If you only eat it occasionally, it is still a wonderful dish.
Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage) 日式炸鸡（唐揚）
Equipment
- 8“ sauce pan
- large bowl
- A large zipbag
Ingredients
- 1 pound deboned chicken thighs
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp starch (preferably potato)
- 3-4 tbsp all-purpose flour (could be replaced by starch)
- 4 cups neutral flavor oil
- 1 tbsp cooking wine (optional)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
- 1 tsp white pepper powder (optional)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken thighs to 1-1.5" pieces
- Put the sliced chicken pieces into the bowl, add all seasonings, mix well, and marinate for 15-20 mins
- Add the starch and marinated chicken to the zipbag, and shake to mix well
- Add the oil to the sauce pan, put the pan to the stove top, and turn the heat to high
- Pour the starch-coated chicken pieces onto the cutting board, sprinkle the all-purpose flour, and mix to coat the chicken pieces with the flour
- Once the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium. Add 5-6 pieces to the oil, and fry for 120-180 seconds.
- After all the pieces are done frying, let them rest for 3-5 mins. Turn the heat to high.
- Refry the pieces, 5-6 pieces each batch for 2-5 mins (depending on your chicken piece size and oil temperature)
- After all the pieces are refried, either let them drain for 1-2 mins, or use a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Serve while it's still warm.
Video
Notes
- Almost all recipes tell people to use neutral flavor oil for frying. I once only had olive oil when I wanted to fry chicken. There was some bitterness in the chicken, but the flavor is sort of special.
- For the second layer of coating, flour is preferred.
- Skin-on chicken thighs give more texture and flavor.
- Keep the chicken chunk small (1") to shorten frying time and give a sort of crispy texture.
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