Japanese ‘Karaage’ Fried Chicken is irresistible and is a delicious starter to any meal and it’s surprisingly simple to make at home
Irresistible fried chicken
My husband, Tomasi may disagree on lots of things but we wholeheartedly agree that we can never say no to any kind of fried chicken. We need, want and must have it!
On our first date, the first thing Tomasi and I discovered we had in common was our love for KFC. Tomasi proudly declared that he knew all the locations of KFC around Sydney, and he also knew which stores made the best and worst fried chicken. Tomasi is so obsessed with KFC that when we travel overseas we must try KFC, I’ve previously explained this weird habit of his in my 6 ingredients FRIED CRISPY HOT WINGS post.
Our love for fried chicken and KFC was all fine and good UNTIL he embarrassed the crap out of me on our wedding night with his wedding speech. He goes: ‘I knew I found the woman of my dreams when Cattie ordered a bucket of KFC and refused to share it with me.’ The reception exploded in laughter whilst I was blushing in shame.
There’s no KFC in this post but there is ‘Karaage’, the ever so popular Japanese fried chicken.
We love ordering Karaage when we go out for Japanese. The golden colour, the promise of crunch and tasty, succulent chicken inside always lures us in. Nowadays we don’t order Karrage as often because I’ve discovered how to make it myself at home.
I randomly came across an old video clip of Tetsuya Wakuda (renowned Japanese/Australian chef) showing us how he makes his Karaage. It surprised me to see that he used very few ingredients and made it look so simple. Tetsuya didn’t give us the exact quantities needed, so I guessed… but don’t worry because it tastes AMAZING! Traditional and easy, the way I like it my Karaage.
Our trip to Japan in 2013
We travelled to Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Tokyo. We explored many beautiful sites, with endless places to eat and see!
- Kinkaku-ji Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto 2. Osaka running Man 3. Tokyo city 4. and 5. Itsukushima Shrine, “floating” Torrii gate and the beautiful scenery in Hiroshima
The Japanese people were most courteous to us and we loved observing their customs. Japan also has world class customer service. They always greeted us in and bowed us out wherever we went.
Getting around Japan was easy thanks to their very efficient bullet trains. Their trains were always immaculate. We loved munching on their cool bento boxes whilst travelling to our next destination.
We also loved the quirky and adorable things we discovered in Japan. They have a cool range of vending machines sold almost everything, Tomasi got a delicious steaming hot bowl of ramen from one of them!
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We also went to a themed restaurant in Tokyo where we had dinner in jail. They served us delicious food in ugly silver trays and the servers wore prison guard costumes. Every hour there would be a jailbreak where the criminals wearing scary masks broke out and taunted us in our cell. I actually felt a little terrified each time that happened but though it was hilarious, we had so much fun!
One thing I regretted about my trip was that I was a late bloomer with sushi, sashimi and other delights from Japan. Even though I enjoyed their dishes back then, I was nowhere near as obsessed with Japanese cuisine as I am now. I wish I had explored their culinary world and taken notes. I’m eager to visit Japan again once it’s safe to do so!
Deep frying 101
I own a deep fryer, and I love it! It controls my oil temperature and makes frying a breeze. I never thought of owning one until I was having lunch at a friend’s place. She was cooking French fries in this massive, deep fryer. How cool was that! Since that day, I’ve always owned a deep fryer but a smaller one!
I do on occasions deep fry my food on a stovetop, depending on what I’m cooking. The hardest part about deep frying is getting the right temperature. If the oil is too high, it’ll burn the outside of the food leaving it raw inside. When the oil is not hot enough, it will soak up too much oil leaving the food greasy tasting.
One fabulous tip I’ve learned is to bring whatever you are frying to room temperature first. So if the protein has been in the fridge, I let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This way, the meat doesn’t take as long to cook, this will help avoid the dark unappealing colour you may get when frying food for too long. Deep fried food should look golden and delicious, bringing the protein to room temperature first before frying will help make this happen!
If you don’t own a thermometer, your best bet would be a wooden skewer or chopstick. Insert it into the oil, if it bubbles around it, the oil is ready. To prevent wasting food, I usually test one piece first (chicken, tofu etc) it’s pretty much trial and error from there. You may need to increase and decrease temperature here and there to get it right.
Use oil that has neutral flavours with high heat tolerance, oils such as vegetable, canola, sunflower or rice bran oil are excellent choices. Never mix oils, as it may cause it to splatter during frying.
Ingredients for Karaage Fried Chicken
Chicken – You can use either boneless and skinless chicken thigh or breast fillets. I prefer to use thighs because it’s more tender and juicy. Breast meat is a little leaner with less fat but can easily dry out whilst cooking.
Cooking sake – Sake is Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice. Cooking sake is usually less sweet with added salt and vinegar. It’s sold in supermarkets in the international section or at Asian grocers.
Mirin – Is Japanese rice wine that is low in alcohol but high in sugar. It’s sold in supermarkets in the international section or at Asian grocers.
Soy sauce – Use light or regular soy sauce.
Flour – To make the karaage crispy, use either cornflour, cornstarch, potato flour or potato starch.
How to make Karaage Fried Chicken
Step by step guide with photos
Slice the chicken thighs into even bite-size chunks (approximately an inch in size). Grate the ginger finely using a cheese grater or mince it use a food processor.
In a large bowl add sliced chicken, grated ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Gently mix and coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic film and place it in the fridge, allow the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Remove excess marinade from the chicken by placing it over a strainer or colander and use a spoon to move the chicken gently side to side or shake the strainer. Set the chicken in the strainer for 30 minutes at room temperature, as this will help the chicken cook faster in the fryer without going too brown on the outside.
Fry the chicken
Add in enough oil to fry the chicken in a deep fryer, wok or saucepan. Heat the oil to 180 degrees or use a wooden chopstick or skewer to test the oil. If it bubbles, the oil is ready.
Use a bowl or large snap bag to coat the chicken in cornflour and shake off any excess flour. Fry the chicken in small batches for approximately 5 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful to not fry for too long as it’ll turn the chicken into a dark brown colour, it should be nice and golden. To check if it cooked through, slice a piece of chicken, if the middle is completely white and opaque it’s cooked.
This delicious Karaage can be eaten on its own or with Japanese mayonnaise ‘Kewpie’. It also goes amazing with JAPANESE TARTAR SAUCE or with this super scrumptious and easy to make WASABI PICKLE MAYO
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Japanese ‘Karrage’ Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 gm boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets (sliced into approx. 1 inch cubes) (NOTE 1)
- 20 gm grated ginger (approx. 1 tbsp very finely grated)
- 1 tbsp sake (NOTE 2)
- 2 tbsp mirin (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (NOTE 4)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup cornflour (NOTE 5)
- Vegetable oil for frying (or any neutral tasting oil)
Instructions
- Slice the chicken thighs into even bite-size chunks (approximately an inch in size). Grate the ginger finely using a cheese grater or mince it use a food processor.
- In a large bowl add sliced chicken, grated ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Gently mix and coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic film and place it in the fridge, allow the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Remove excess marinade from the chicken by placing it over a strainer or colander and use a spoon to move the chicken gently side to side or shake the strainer. Set the chicken on in the strainer for 30 minutes at room temperature, as this will help the chicken cook faster in the fryer without going too brown on the outside.
- Add in enough oil to fry the chicken in a deep fryer, wok or saucepan. Heat the oil to 180 degrees or use a wooden chopstick or skewer to test the oil. If it bubbles, the oil is ready.
- Use a bowl or large snap bag to coat the chicken in cornflour and shake off any excess flour. Fry the chicken in small batches for approximately 5 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful to not fry for too long as it'll turn the chicken into a dark brown colour, it should be nice and golden. To check if it cooked through, slice a piece of chicken, if the middle is completely white and opaque it's cooked.
