Karaage, Japanese deep fried chicken is one of the most popular homemade main dishes in Japan. I hope this will be the one you will love for the rest of your life!
How to make Karaage Japanese fried chicken.
Firstly marinate chicken with soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic and ginger. Then coat in flour and cornstarch. Lastly, deep-fry making it crispy exterior and tender interior. That’s all. It’s much easier that it seems.
Each household have each marinade ingredient combination. And some people have own “secret ingredients”. In my case, it’s rice vinegar. Rice vinegar makes chicken very tender and also infuse subtle sweetness.
My family loves my Karaage. So I make it on a regular basis. However deep-frying Karaage was not something fuss-free cooking until I knew this Karaage recipe by Yoshiharu Doi. He is a Japanese famous culinary specialist on cooking TV shows. What’s the distinctive about in his recipe is submerging chicken in the oil without pre-heating. This method, start from the cold oil was recent trend known as what we called “Cold Start” in Japan.
Cold Start cooking removes the things below for deep-frying.
- Fear of dipping food in extremely hot oil
- Adjustment for temperature / heat level
- Overcooked inside / undercooked outside
- Frying oil spill
Tips
- After placing the chicken in the oil and turn the stove on, do not touch the chicken in the first 5 minutes.
- Cook over high-heat from start to finish (golden-brown).
There are the most important points of Cold start cooking. While deep-frying, try to minimize flip the chicken. Because it causes to peel off the batter.
Cold Start not only allow us to deep- frying with confidence, but also it gives light and crisp chicken outcome! With only 1-2 cm (1/2-1 inch) of oil, you can make perfect Karaage!
Karaage Japanese Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 600 g skin-on chicken thighs / breast cut into 5 cm (2 inches) pieces
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
Coating
- 3 tbsp plain white flour
- 3 tbsp corn starch / potato starch
Frying
- vegetable oil (Canola / Sunflower / Rapeseed)
Instructions
- Stir together all the ingredients in Chicken Marinade in a bow or a food storage bag. Then refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
- Add the plain white flour in the chicken marinade and combine well.
- Place the corn starch in a separate bowl and add the chicken one by one, then coat evenly.
- Pour 1-2 cm ( 1/2 - 1 inch) of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or skillet.
- Place the all chicken in the oil. It will be crowded but shouldn't be piled. If there is not enough space for the chicken, use another pan.
- Cook the chicken over a high heat until slightly brown. It takes about 5 minutes. Be sure not to touch the chicken until then. Then gently flip over and cook the other side.
- Keep frying over the high heat, flipping occasionally until golden brown and crisp.
- Transfer the chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate.
