Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage) - with dipping sauce
A fairly straightforward and delicious recipe for either a weeknight treat or a delicious party appetizer.
Equipment
- Deep fryer
Ingredients
Fried Chicken
- 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- ½ Tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 1½ cloves garlic grated
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp sake or white wine
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp MSG optional, but delicious
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1-2 cups potato starch
- High smokepoint oil for frying such as peanut or avocado oil
Japanese Mayo dipping sauce
- ¼ cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- ½ tsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp chili oil
- ¾ tsp togarashi powder
Instructions
Prep the Chicken
- Cut the chicken thighs into 1-2 inch pieces, and place in a bowl or ziploc bag.
- Into the chicken add: Ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, sake, salt, cornstarch, and MSG. Mix until well combined and chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate to marinate between 1-8 hours.
Prepare the Japanese Mayo
- In a separate bowl mix mayo, rice vinegar, togarashi, and chili oil. Stir until fully mixed. Refrigerate until serving.
Frying the Chicken
- Heat frying oil to 325℉
- Place the potato starch in a bowl, and spritz lightly with water to moisten and mix to incorporate. Gently toss the marinated chicken pieces to coat thoroughly, and gently shake off excessive starch.
- Gently lower the chicken into the hot oil, frying in batches. Frying half at a time you can keep frying the second half of the chicken during the resting periods detailed below. The fry/rest pattern will result in crispier chicken.
- Fry for 3 minutes, remove and allow to rest a minute. Return chicken to oil and fry for 1-2 minutes until medium brown, remove and allow to rest a minute. Return to oil one final time and fry for 1-2 minutes until very crispy and darker golden brown.
- Serve while hot with Japanese mayo dipping sauce.