Crispy Chicken Karaage - Japanese Fried Chicken

Chicken Karaage, a.k.a Japanese Fried Chicken, is crispy on the outside and super moist within. Delicious as an appetizer or serve with rice to turn it into meal. I have taken a deep dive into how to prepare the perfect Karaage including an air-fried version!

📝 Ingredients

• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey ((or 1 tsp sugar))
• 6 garlic cloves (, minced)
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger (, finely grated)
• 1 tbsp sake ((or dry sherry / vermouth))
• 450 g (1 pounskinless boneless chicken thighs
• 30 g (1/4 cup) potato starch ((or corn starch))
• 30 g (1/4 cup) flour
• sunflower oil to fry

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Fried Chicken Karaage ---
2. 2Cut your skinless and boneless chicken thighs into even smallish pieces and remove any visible fat. I ended up cutting mine into quarters.
3. 3Put the chicken into a bowl and add minced garlic, honey, soy sauce, sake and grated ginger. Stir to combine, cover and leave to marinate for at least an hour (in the fridge). Bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to cooking.
4. 4Combine the potato starch and flour and then add to the chicken. Mix together quickly just before you are ready to fry. Don’t worry if the coating is not even, this works to your advantage to give the chicken an authentic texture.
5. 5Meanwhile prepare your fryer or heat the oil in a pot. When the oil reaches a temperature of 160C/320F start frying your chicken in batches. Cook for 90 seconds and then set aside on a wire rack. Continue cooking the chicken but make sure the oil temperature hasn’t dropped / climbed in the meantime.
6. 6Increase the oil temperature to 190C/375F and fry the chicken again for 45secs- 1min. The skin should be golden and crispy.
7. 7Transfer chicken to a plate lined with paper towels. Check the chicken temperature with the Thermapen - it should be 75C /165F.
8. 8Serve immediately with lemon wedges, some Japanese Seven Spice seasoning and a side of wasabi mayo.
9. 9--- Air Fryer Chicken Karaage ---
10. 10Preheat the airfryer at 200C (395F). Marinate the chicken thighs as above. Use chopsticks to roll into the starch/flour to coat lightly.
11. 11Spray the airfryer basket with low calorie cooking spray then arrange the chicken on it in a single layer. Do not crowd it, you will need to cook in batches. Spray the chicken with low calorie cooking spray.
12. 12Cook for a total of 12 minutes, flipping the chicken pieces after 6 minutes. Check the internal temperature and serve as above.