Karaage chicken
Japanese fried chicken, marinated in shoyu and ginger and fried crisp in bite-size pieces. It is a pupu, a plate lunch protein, and the thing that disappears first at any potluck.
What it is
Karaage is boneless chicken thigh cut into bite-size pieces, marinated in shoyu, ginger, and garlic, coated in starch, and fried until crisp and light. The starch gives it a shatter-thin crust while the thigh stays juicy inside. A squeeze of lemon at the end and you are set. In Hawaii it usually shows up as a pupu, an appetizer to share, or as the protein on a plate lunch.
A short history
Karaage is a Japanese way of frying, lightly coated pieces cooked in hot oil, and it is everywhere in Japan, from home kitchens to izakaya. It came to Hawaii the same way so much did, with Japanese immigrant families, and settled right in. The islands even grew their own cousin, mochiko chicken, which swaps the starch for sweet rice flour, mochiko, for an extra crunchy, slightly sweet crust.
How to make it at home
Thighs, not breasts, and potato starch if you can find it, it fries up the crispest. Cornstarch works fine too.
Karaage chicken
Serves 4 as a pupu
For the chicken
- 1.5 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp shoyu
- 1 tbsp sake or mirin
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
- Neutral oil, for frying
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Steps
- Mix the chicken with the shoyu, sake, ginger, garlic, and sugar. Let it sit 20 to 30 minutes.
- Toss the pieces in the starch so each one is coated. Shake off the extra.
- Fry in 350 degree oil in small batches, 3 to 4 minutes, until golden and cooked through. For extra crunch, let them rest a minute and fry a second time.
- Drain on a rack and serve hot with lemon.
Round out the table with the other favorites, or make a batch of spam musubi to go with.
Where I read up on this
- Karaage, Wikipedia