Chicken Karaage 🍗🇯🇵

Description

Ultra-crispy Japanese fried chicken: soy–ginger marinade, airy starch coating, and a quick double-fry for shatter crunch. Serve with lemon and mayo. 🍋

Hook
Juicy inside, crackly outside — izakaya legend in your kitchen! 🔥

Ingredients

• 🍗 Boneless, skin-on chicken thighs: 600 g (1.32 lb)
• 🧂 Fine salt: 4 g (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, grated: 2 cloves (~6 g / 0.2 oz)
• 🫚 Ginger, grated: 10 g (2 tsp / 0.35 oz)
• 🍶 Soy sauce: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍶 Sake (or dry sherry): 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍯 Mirin: 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🌾 Potato starch (or cornstarch): 120 g (1 cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🌾 All-purpose flour (optional, lighter crust): 30 g (¼ cup / 1.1 oz)
• 🛢️ Neutral oil for frying: 1 l (4 cups / 34 fl oz)
• 🍋 Lemon wedges, to serve
• 🥚 Japanese mayo, optional: 60 ml (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Marinate: Cut chicken into 3–4 cm pieces. Mix soy 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz), sake 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz), mirin 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz), garlic, ginger, and salt. Toss chicken; marinate 20 min.
2. 2️⃣ Coat: Combine potato starch with flour. Lift chicken from marinade (no excess liquid) and coat evenly. Rest 5 min so starch hydrates lightly.
3. 3️⃣ First fry: Heat oil to 170–175°C (338–347°F). Fry in small batches 2½–3 min until pale-gold. Drain; rest 2 min.
4. 4️⃣ Second fry (crisp): Raise oil to 190°C (374°F) and fry again 45–60 sec until deep-gold and super-crisp.
5. 5️⃣ Serve: Drain on a rack. Squeeze lemon and dip in mayo.

Total Time

🕒 Preparation: 15 min
🔥 Cooking: 15 min
💤 Rest/Marinade: 20 min
⏰ Total: 50 min

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