Japanese Fried Chicken AKA Tori no Karaage

Japanese Fried Chicken (the Japanese call it Tori no Karaage) must be one of Japan's most well known foods. It's certainly something I get asked about a lot, along the lines of "How do you get Japanese karaage so golden and crispy but juicy at the same time?" Aha, just read on...

Oddly enough, for a food that is as universally popular and well regarded, Tori no Karaage doesn't have a long history in Japan. Dating the dish is a little difficult but most sources have it that it Tori no Karaage only became "a thing" in Japan in the 1930s, so less than a century ago.

The history of the dish aside, there is no doubt that a plate of freshly fried Japanese Fried Chicken is a tasty wonder to behold. What makes it so good? Basically, this boils down to four things:

• the colour - properly prepared Japanese Fried Chicken wears a coat of golden brown

  
  

• the texture - when you take a bite of Japanese Fried Chicken, the coating should be a little bit crunchy but not overly hard

  
  

• the juiciness - once your teeth have bitten into a nugget of your Japanese Fried Chicken, you should find a juicy little morsel of chicken inside

  
  

• the taste - your Japanese Fried Chicken should fill your mouth with rich, spicy hints of ginger and garlic with a little touch of sweetness

So, how to achieve all of the above? Well, there are a few basic steps and if you follow each one, delivering a plate of delicious, golden Tori no Karaage to your table will be well within your grasp.

First things first - the chicken. I use chicken thigh meat rather than breast for my Tori no Karaage. Chicken thigh meat has a higher fat content which makes for that lovely, juicy feeling on the tongue when bitten.

Second, preparing your chicken thighs. To produce consistent and uniform results, the chicken needs to be cut into pieces that are pretty much the same size. So, the first part of your prep will be to lay your chicken thighs out flat. This done, you'll see where the thigh muscle is more "lumpy'. Partly slice this lump with a sharp knife so that your can then spread the meat out into a flat piece. Now that the meat is much the same thickness, cut it into bite sized pieces.

Third, making your marinade. Many cooks and restaurants in Japan boast their own Fried Chicken marinades but what they all share is ginger, soy sauce and Japanese sake. My recipe also includes mirin and a couple of large grated cloves of garlic for an even deeper flavour. Once the marinade is assembled, the chicken pieces should be generously seasoned and then left in the marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes but preferably for at least an hour or two.

Fourth, the flour coating. Or to be more precise, the flour and starch coating. The secret to that crispy, crunchy texture is to use a coating that combines corn starch with plain flour. (Some cooks swear by potato starch but I find corn flour produces the best combition of colour and texture.)

Fifth (and last), the double frying. That crunchy texture and golden colour doesn't happen by accident. The trick is to fry the Karaage not once but twice. You can use the same pan and the same oil to do this. All you need to do between the two frying phases is to use a (metal) strainer to sieve out any flour coating that is in the oil. Frying your karaage for two minutes, twice, will produce exactly the colour and texture that's required for a pukka Japanese Fried Chicken.

When all that's done, all that remains is to enjoy the fruits of your labours. I usually serve mine on a bed of salad with bowls of rice but I'll leave those details up to you!

If you'd like to try this recipe out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Japanese Fried Chicken or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.

Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.

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ingredients:

(makes 2-3 servings)

4 boneless chicken thighs

3 cm / 1.25 in piece of ginger

2 large garlic cloves

for the marinade

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sake

2 tbsp soy sauce

salt & pepper

8 tbsp cornstarch

6 tbsp plain flour

1/2 lemon for drizzling

some sunflower or other vegetable oil for shallow frying

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how to:

lay out the chicken thighs flat, then slice the thickest part of the thigh. the aim here is to get a uniform thickness, so that when you cut the thighs into bite sized peieces, you get pieces that are the same thickness. this way, you’ll ensure that they all cook well when you come to fry

next, cut the thighs cut into bite sized pieces

to make the marinade:

grate the ginger and garlic into a bowl. add the mirin, sake and soy sauce to the bowl. mix together well

sprinkle the chicken generously with black pepper and salt over the chicken. pour over the marinade. mix well so that all the chicken pieces are well coated. marinate for at least 30 minutes

for the karaage coating:

combine the cornstarch and plain flour in a bowl. (the ratio of the flour is 4 : 3 - the cornflour gives the karaage its signature crunchy texture.)

give each chicken piece a good coating of flour. while you are doing this, if you notice some pieces have absorbed the flour, give them another dip, so that they are nicely coated with flour

pour about 2cm / 3/4 in of oil into a medium saucepan. heat the oil about 170C / 340F.  to test the heat,  drop a small piece of the flour mixture into the pan. if it bubles readily, you are ready to fry the chicken

shallow fry 4 - 5 pieces at a time for 2 minutes. don’t overcrowd the pan as this will reduce the temperature.

after 2 minutes, remove the chicken pieces to a rack or some kitchen paper to drain off the cooking oil. fry your next batch, reducing the heat a little if its getting too hot

when you have finished frying the chicken, use a (metal) strainer to remove ny excess flour from the oil in the saucepan

next,  refry your first batch of karaage for another 2 minutes.  adjust the heat as you fry to keep the temperature constant. fry the chicken batch by batch like you did the first time around

when all chicken pieces have been fried again for 2 minutes, drain on a rack or with fresh kitchen paper

your Japanese fried chicken is now ready to serve   

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