Chicken karaage
Chicken karaage is a tasty and popular dish that originated from Japanese cuisine. It is made with chicken morsels lightly coated in flour or starch and fried to golden perfection.
Ingredients
Instructions
Mix the grated ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sake in a bowl. Add the chicken pieces and coat them in the mix. Cover and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat plenty of oil in a very deep frying pan at 325º F. Prepare two dishes, one with the flour and the other with the potato starch.
Take pieces of chicken from the bowl, draining them, and coat them in flour first and then in potato starch. Shaking them well each time to remove excess flour or starch.
Fry the chicken pieces in batches, until they become light golden 1-2 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to drain excess oil. The chicken continues cooking with the residual heat.
Strain the oil to remove lumps of fried flour and keep the oil clean.
Heat the oil to 350º F. Fry the chicken pieces again in batches until they are completely browned, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Place them on a rack once more as they get ready.
Serve the karaage chicken very hot.
Alternatively, let the fried chicken cool completely and store in an airtight container. Refrigerate or freeze it.
Notes
Chicken thigh is juicier and more tender than breast when fried this way.
You could mix the flour with the potato starch, but the crust comes out better doing one aftre the other.
Don't crowd the pan so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.
Chicken karaage can be served as an appetizer, sually with lemon wedges and mayonnaise, light meal or even at parties. To make it a more substantial meal, serve chicken karaage with steamed rice and vegetables.
Karaage chicken can be kept refrigerated for 3 days in the fridge, it will keep frozen for 1 month.
Variatons
If you want to add more flavor, try marinating chicken cubes in the soy sauce, sesame oil and other ingredients before frying them!. You can also add more spices such as chili powder or cayenne pepper to the chicken batter for a spicy kick.
For a sweeter version, add 1 teaspoon sugar to the flour, or replace the soy sauce with honey or sugar.
Source
Japanese chicken karaage dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867). It originated in Japan as a fried chicken dish called tatsuta-age and has since become popular all over Japan and beyond! Its popularity is due to its delicious taste, convenience and versatility.
Food in Asia