April 16, 2021

Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage)

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I got the base of this recipe for Karaage or Japanese Fried Chicken from one of my all time favorite sushi restaurants in Denver, CO. One of my favorite pastimes is sitting at the sushi bar and talking to the chefs. It’s always a great idea to make friends with the people who make your food.

This time I happened to make friends with the executive chef of the restaurant, Jesus. He really is an amazing sushi chef and often makes me some of his “off menu” creations. Even though I love the sushi, my favorite thing at the restaurant is actually the fried chicken. I sing its praises every time I eat there and eventually he offered to give me the recipe!

Now I should note that this recipe was for A LOT of chicken. 6 cups of soy sauce, 4 cups of lemon juice, etc. He laughed when he handed it to me and said I might want to scale it down. I definitely did just that! I also added a few of my own personal tweaks as I like to do with every recipe I make.

What makes it “Japanese” fried chicken?

Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique that involves coating meat or seafood (but usually chicken) in a starch and frying it in oil. There are many different types of karaage in Japan, varying by region as almost all of their food does. This particular take on the recipe is inspired by Zangi- Hokkaido prefecture’s version of karaage, made with a marinade and served with a spicy dipping sauce.

You can use chicken breasts or even wings with this recipe, but I’ve always preferred chicken thighs. They don’t take as long to cook as wings do and they are a lot more juicy compared to chicken breast meat.

I think what I love most about this recipe is just how simple it actually is. All the flavor comes from the marinade and man is it strong. It’s filled with citrus, salt and aromatics, which give the chicken an amazing flavor. Battering the chicken in cornstarch ensures a wonderful flaky and crunchy exterior. Then to top it off you add the spicy mayo dipping sauce, which adds fat and spice to the chicken. Believe me when I say to make this with caution, because you will likely eat the whole batch and still want more!

Where can I find the ingredients?

Thankfully most of the ingredients in the Japanese fried chicken are easily accessible. The majority of grocery stores in America will have the basics required in the marinade. Vinegar, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice are very common. I do always recommend getting ginger, garlic and lemon fresh rather than in a jar or bottle. It might be a pain to juice that many lemons but the taste will be worth it!

Soy sauce is another easily accessible ingredient. While I have a particular soy sauce I prefer (Tamari Soy Sauce from Japan), any soy sauce will do. However I do recommend paying attention to the sodium content as the soy sauce in this recipe is used in place of salt. Adjust accordingly if you buy low sodium soy sauce.

Sriracha is another one that is so popular in America, I’d be amazed if you couldn’t find it. However, one ingredient that I highly recommend you use that might be difficult to find in store is “Kewpie” Mayonnaise. Why kewpie? This Japanese mayo is super flavorful, mostly thanks to the MSG but also the way it’s made. It has a sweeter taste and depth of flavor than American mayo. This isn’t an end all ingredient though. The dipping sauce will still be great with regular mayonnaise, but if you can get your hands on the Japanese Kewpie brand, even better! Most Asian grocery stores carry it and you can order it online.

Mirin is a Japanese rice wine and can usually be found in the Asian section of the grocery store. I wouldn’t recommend a substitute for this. If you can’t get your hands on it I would just omit it from the marinade. It will be a little less sweet but the flavor won’t drastically change.

Finally the last ingredient that might also be difficult to find is Shichimi Togarashi, which is a Japanese Seven Spice Blend. You can completely omit this if you want, but I absolutely love the little kick of flavor and spice this gives. It has dried chilies, seaweed, orange peel, garlic, sesame seeds (black and white) and sansho (Japanese pepper). I sprinkle it on the chicken and put it in the sriracha mayo. You can also order this online or find it in most Asian grocery stores.

How to serve it?

So traditionally Karaage is served as an appetizer or street food/snack in Japan and most restaurants. I have personally made it as an entree with fries and cabbage slaw, which worked out really well. I think this recipe works great as any appetizer, snack or entree. So feel free to serve it however you please.

Japanese Fried Chicken Step by Step:

Dice the chicken into medium bite size pieces.

Mince all the garlic and ginger, I like to use a food processor to make this step quicker. Juice the lemons and measure out all the liquid ingredients. Mix all marinade ingredients together into a medium sized bowl.

Marinate for at least 30 minutes but no more than 1 hour. It is very important that you don’t go longer than an hour. The marinade is extremely acidic and will start to break the chicken too much if left in it for too long. Also the flavor will become overpowering. A little goes a long way with this recipe.

Drain the marinade and coat the chicken thighs in cornstarch. Make sure to give them a good squeeze. There will be little bits of garlic and ginger, but that’s ok! It will only add to the flavor of the final product.

Heat up oil to 350 degrees F in a large pot, about 4 to 5 inches high. I like to also use a thermometer to keep track of the oil temp.

Deep fry for 4 to 6 minutes in batches and drain on paper towels. They should be a nice dark golden brown. Repeat for the remaining chicken. If the batter is falling off, the oil might not be hot enough, or you just need to let them cook a little longer.

Sprinkle with green onion and Shichimi Togarashi, optional. Serve immediately with spicy mayo and lemon wedges.

Spicy Mayo:

Mix all of the spicy mayo ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside until ready to serve. Or you can make a giant batch of this and put it in a squeeze bottle and use it on everything!

Japanese Fried Chicken Video Tutorial

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