Chicken Karaage Recipe (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Chicken Karaage is made by marinating bite-sized chicken thigh pieces in a mixture of soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic, and mirin, then coating them in potato starch and deep frying until crispy. The marinade infuses the chicken with savory, lightly sweet, and aromatic flavors. This yields a crisp exterior with tender, juicy meat inside. The use of potato starch helps produce an especially crunchy coating. Served with lemon wedges, Kewpie mayonnaise, or shichimi togarashi, it offers versatile dipping options common in Japanese cuisine.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs skin-on, de-boned, & cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 ¾ fl oz soy sauce
- 1 fl oz sake
- 8 g ginger fresh grated
- 10 g garlic grated
- ⅓ fl oz mirin
- vegetable oil
- 200 g potato starch or cornstarch
Optional dipping / sides
- lemon wedges
- mayonnaise Kewpie brand, Japanese
- shichimi togarashi
Instructions
- De-bone your chicken thighs and cut into 1 inch, bite-sized pieces.
- In a bowl, add soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic, and mirin together and stir until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the 1-inch chicken pieces to a container with a lid (I like to use glass food storage containers with a rubber seal for marinating because it seals liquids properly).
- Mix in the marinade and stir to cover all the pieces of chicken. Close the lid and leave in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. You will want to check at the 4 hour mark and give it a mix to ensure even coverage.
- After your chicken is done marinating, pour about 1 ½ inches of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot and heat to 375 °F degrees.
- Measure out 200 grams of potato starch into a shallow bowl. Lightly flour each piece of chicken into the potato starch. Add more starch to the bowl if necessary. If you can’t find potato starch, you can also substitute it for cornstarch.
- Immediately after breading, you want to slowly lower each chicken piece into the heated oil. Make sure to not crowd the pieces to ensure proper frying.
- Cook each piece for about 3-5 minutes depending on the size, or until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken and place on a cooling rack or paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Serve the karaage with lemons and Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand) topped with Shichimi Togarashi, if you want an extra kick. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 6 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 494
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 494kcal | 25% |
| Carbohydrates | 32g | 11% |
| Protein | 29g | 58% |
| Fat | 27g | 42% |
| Saturated Fat | 7g | 35% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 152mg | 51% |
| Sodium | 911mg | 38% |
| Potassium | 703mg | 15% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 118IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 11mg | 12% |
| Calcium | 44mg | 4% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.