The karaage are very popular fried chicken fritters in Japan and are very easy to cook at home. Here is our recipe:
Our tips before cooking karaage
The karaage are fried in oil, you will need a skimmer to remove the excess starch in the oil. Moreover, to cook them perfectly you will need a kitchen thermometer if you don’t have one, you will have to cook them at medium heat and stay vigilant.
In order for the karaage to soak up the marinade, it is best to leave them overnight in the fridge or, if you are short of time, for at least 30 minutes.
To grate the ginger and garlic, I use a ceramic ginger grater bought in Japan. There are ultra hard and sharp ceramic tips to grate the ginger or even to make a little puree.
Recipe karaage, light chicken fritters
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 grated garlic clove
- 2 tbsp shoyu soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
- potato starch
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 4cm) and place in a shallow dish.
- Prepare the marinade and mix the grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil and mirin in another bowl.
- Coat the chicken with the sauce and cover your bowl to leave it overnight ideally or 30 minutes minimum in the fridge.
- Heat the frying oil to 170°C or over medium heat.
- Prepare a large bowl of potato starch and coat your chicken pieces in the starch. Feel free to be generous, they should be all white.
- Once your oil is hot, dip the chicken pieces in for 3 to 5 minutes. They should be golden brown and crispy. We recommend cooking them in several batches.
- Take them out even if they are white, wait for your oil to heat up, and dip your precooked chicken pieces back in. Repeat as many times as you like. Don't forget to skim off the excess cornstarch in your oil.
The accompaniments of karaage
Karaage are perfect for appetizers, they can be eaten as is, or with sauces such as Kewpie mayonnaise, Chilimayo mayonnaise, ketchup, Shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili pepper), salt, lemon…
It is also common in Japan to eat them as a main dish. They will be served with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, a quarter of a lemon, a bowl of Japanese rice, miso soup and tsukemono most of the time.
Our tips
If you want to make a large quantity, you can take a freezer bag and fill it with potato starch. Then, put your marinated chicken pieces inside and coat them with the starch by shaking the bag.
You can also add some powdered Japanese aonori seaweed to the potato starch!
The karaage can be kept in the fridge for a few days and although they are delicious hot, they can also be eaten cold.
You can also find our recipe of spicy karaage Korean style, a delight!
