Karaage (Japanese Style Fried Chicken)
Crispy, flavorful, Japanese-style fried chicken! Marinated in a soy-garlic sauce, then battered with potato starch and double-fried.
Equipment
- deep fryer or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken breast or thigh (thigh is traditional, but I use breast, see notes)
For marinade:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon sake Japanese rice wine
- 2 tablespoon mirin Japanese sweet cooking wine
- 2 tablespoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
- 2 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon msg optional
For coating:
- 2 cups potato starch
- ½ cup water
For deep-frying:
- ~1 gallon canola oil (for deep-frying in a machine, see notes for tips)
Instructions
To prepare:
- Trim chicken as desired and cut into bite-sized pieces. If using skin-on boneless chicken thighs, gently score through the skin and any connective tissue with a sharp knife.
- Mix together marinade ingredients, add chicken pieces, and marinate in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a separate bowl, add the potato starch. Drizzle in the water and mix it with chopsticks to form pebbles in the starch (do not over mix). Dredge each piece of chicken in the starch, then set aside to fry.
To Fry:
- Preheat oil in a large pot or deep fryer to 320 F. I recommend using a deep fryer because it's easier to maintain a consistent oil temperature. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet to hold the finished pieces.
- Fry each piece for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through, then set on the wire rack to drip and cool. Repeat for all pieces. Flip the pieces as needed so both sides cook evenly.
- Raise the heat of the oil to 375 F.
- Fry each piece again for ~30 to 45 seconds per side until deep golden brown. Return to the wire rack.
To Serve:
- Serve hot, with spicy mayo for dipping and an optional lemon wedge!
To Freeze Karaage:
- Allow the chicken pieces to cool to room temperature. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, then place the chicken pieces on the sheet so that they are not touching. Transfer to the freezer.
- After the pieces have frozen, you can transfer them into a freezer-safe zip bag for long-term storage. I like to vacuum seal the frozen karaage in small packages to maintain the best quality.
To Reheat Frozen Karaage:
- Preheat a toaster oven, air fryer, or standard oven to 375 °F. (I use an air fryer)
- Place the chicken on a baking sheet if needed (for the oven), or directly into the basket of the air fryer. Do not overcrowd it.
- Cook until the outside is sizzling and the inside is warmed through to 165 °F, about 8-10 minutes in an air fryer or toaster oven and 10-15 minutes in the oven.
- Serve hot, with spicy mayo for dipping and an optional lemon wedge!
Notes
This recipe is written to be made in a large batch. I do this because it can easily be frozen and reheated. It's a hassle to deep fry for just a small batch, so I really recommend preparing it in bulk.
Traditional karaage is made with skin-on boneless chicken thigh meat. I personally prefer to use breast meat instead, and that is what's pictured in this recipe, but both work fine! This is up to personal preference; feel free to try it both ways!
I prepare this recipe in a home deep fryer (I have this one and it's great, I typically use it outside). You can also fry these in a dutch oven on your stove, which uses less oil but is more difficult to control. If you're looking for tips on deep frying on the stove, check out this page.
Nutrition
Serving: 3 ozCalories: 225kcalProtein: 25g
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