Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Treat yourself to extra crispy bites of juicy fried chicken with this karaage recipe. I bet you can't stop at just one piece!

📝 Ingredients

• 2 lb chicken thighs (skin-on, de-boned, & cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 2 3/4 fl oz soy sauce
• 1 fl oz sake
• 8 g fresh grated ginger
• 10 g grated garlic
• 1/3 fl oz mirin
• vegetable oil
• 200 g potato starch (or cornstarch)
• lemon wedges
• Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand)
• Shichimi Togarashi

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1De-bone your 2 lb chicken thighs and cut into 1 inch, bite-sized pieces.
2. 2In a bowl, add 2 ¾ fl oz soy sauce, 1 fl oz sake, 8 g fresh grated ginger, 10 g grated garlic, and ⅓ fl oz mirin together and stir until all ingredients are combined.
3. 3Add the cut chicken pieces to a container with a lid (I like to use glass food storage containers with a rubber seal for marinating because it fully seals liquids).
4. 4Mix in the marinade and stir to cover all the pieces of chicken. Close the lid and leave in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. You will want to check at the 4 hour mark and give it a mix to ensure even coverage.
5. 5After your chicken is done marinating, pour about 1 ½ inches of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 375 °F degrees.
6. 6Pour 200 g potato starch into a shallow bowl. Lightly flour each piece of chicken into the potato starch. Add more starch to the bowl if necessary. If you can’t find potato starch, you can also substitute it for cornstarch.
7. 7Immediately after breading, you want to slowly lower each chicken piece into the heated oil. Make sure to not crowd the pieces to ensure proper frying.
8. 8Cook each piece for about 3-5 minutes depending on the size, or until golden brown.
9. 9Remove the chicken and place on a cooling rack or paper towels to remove excess oil.
10. 10Serve the karaage with lemon wedges and Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand) topped with Shichimi Togarashi, if you want an extra kick. Enjoy!