Fried chicken is a recipe seen in most cuisines and differentiations come from a variety of marinating, coating and cooking styles.
Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique that involves coating bite sized pieces of chicken in potato or corn starch and shallow frying them to create the crispiest bite ever! The chicken is marinated prior to cooking to give it a unique burst of flavor.
Typically, the marinade consists of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sake or dry wine and optionally, sesame oil. The potato or corn starch gives the dish its extremely crispy exterior and it is topped with a Japanese seven spice blend to make it extra flavorful.
The recipe has been around since the 17th century, but is now readily available as a pre-made dish in a variety of grocery stores and restaurants.
Although the marinade in this dish along with the coating makes it specific to Japanese cuisine, the 7 spice blend added at the end brings a special twist to this recipe. The blend, also known as Shichimi Togarash consists of chili powder, both black and white sesame seeds, citrus, ginger, dried seaweed and sichuan peppercorns.
With a light squeeze of lemon juice at the end combined with the spice, this dish has an extremely zesty and spicy flavor like no other. This spice has been around for over 400 years and is a staple in Japanese cuisine.
If you’d like to make this recipe for yourself, follow the steps below!
Karaage
Recipe
1. Start by prepping your chicken. Cut them into bite sized pieces and set aside in a bowl.
2. To the bowl, add the soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, ginger and garlic along with salt and pepper to taste. Mix and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. When the chicken is done marinating, in a medium pan, add about an inch and a half of oil.
4. In the meantime, coat your chicken with cornstarch or potato starch.
5. When the oil is ready, fry in batches, about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.
6. When all the chicken is done, coat with the seven spice blend and serve with lemon and kewpie mayo.
7. Enjoy!
Japanese Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
1. 1 lb chicken thighs
2. 1 tsp ginger, grated
3. 1 tbsp garlic, minced
4. 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
5. 1 tbsp sake or dry sherry wine
6. 1 tsp sesame oil
7. Cornstarch or potato starch, to coat
8. Oil, for frying
9. Shichimi togarashi, to serve
10. Lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
11. Kewpie mayo, to serve (optional)
