Spicy Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Serves 4
Fragrant, tender and moist with a note of ginger and just enough heat. Excellent with cold beer as an appetizer or a casual meal. This can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd.
It’s worth seeking out the Japanese ingredients called for here – they’ll make excellent additions to your kitchen!
For some reason, people see “dark meat” and react like you’ve suggested they eat entrails. “Only the blandest and driest part of the chicken for me, thanks!” Well, I hope you’ll at least try this with thighs. That is how it would be prepared in Japan, and I do think you’ll like it. It’s really not possible to deep-fry small nuggets of white meat without drying them out, but dark thigh meat can withstand some overcooking and remain juicy.
Ingredients #
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tbsp. sake
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. grated garlic
- 2 tbsp. grated ginger
- 1 tsp. shichimi togarashi* or ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp. yuzu kosho (a Japanese citrus-chili-salt paste)* or the zest of ½ a lemon
- ½ cup flour
- 2/3 cup potato starch* or cornstarch
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions #
*If there’s a Japanese grocery store in your community I hope you’ll seek it out. You’ll find much more than just the ingredients you were shopping for. However, these Japanese ingredients can all be had from several online retailers, including Amazon.
Cut each chicken thigh into 3-4 bite-sized pieces. In a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken, mix the sake, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, shichimi togarashi and yuzu kosho. Add the chicken and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (overnight is even better).
In a deep skillet or pot, heat the oil to 350 F on a candy thermometer. While it heats, mix the flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Season liberally with salt and pepper (or salt and shichimi togarashi).
Coat each piece of chicken very thoroughly in the flour mixture and set aside on a wire rack.
Fry the chicken pieces in batches (don’t overcrowd the pot or let the oil temperature drop too low, or the chicken will be greasy). Cook each batch for 5-7 minutes. Note that potato starch and cornstarch do not brown as heavily as flour, so the chicken may be cooked and crisp without being as golden-brown as you expect.
Remove each batch to a wire rack and keep them warm in a 200 F oven (unless you’ve got company eating them as they’re done). Serve with this dipping sauce:
Ginger Scallion Dipping Sauce #
This is a recipe of my own devising, packing many intense flavors into a bright, thin sauce that’s perfect with karaage or pan-fried dumplings.
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. mirin*
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. ponzu or chili ponzu*
- 1 scallion, sliced very fine
- ½ 1 tbsp. grated ginger
- ½ clove garlic, grated
- ½ tsp. rayu (Japanese chili oil) or sesame oil*
- Pinch of sugar
*These can all be found at a Japanese grocery store or ordered online.
Combine all ingredients and chill, covered, for an hour (this lets the flavors develop). Serve in small dipping bowls.