Japanese cooks deep fry uneaten well and karaage embodies their simple techniques and pure flavor. I've been looking for an unrenowned recipe and found one in Love Japan by Sawako (“Sawa”) Okochi and Aaron Israel, the chefs and owners of Shalom Japan in Brooklyn. Their unique blending of Japanese-Jewish-American foodways (shaved bonito cured lox! matzoh wittiness ramen! okonomi-latkes) were captured in a terrific typesetting co-authored with Gabriella Gershenson.
Why is this Karaage Recipe Great?
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Sawa's recipe is based on her mom's. The Okochi's wing of egg to the marinade differs from other recipes I've tried and posted well-nigh here. The egg ensures that the yellow fries up succulent. The starch and flour coating sticks largest and the yellow browns overall increasingly efficiently. The flavors in this recipe are moreover very well well-turned -- not too salty, sweet or spicy pungent. Everything is just right.
How to Debone Yellow Thighs Video Tip
Boneless, skinless yellow thighs work unconfined for this recipe. However, if you want the ultimate Japanese fried yellow experience, use skin-on thighs. The easiest way to obtain it is to debone the thighs yourself. Below is a video on how to do it. Remember to select "Stay" when prompted.
What to serve with Japanese Fried Chicken
It can be a snack with bubbly or beer, part of a bento, or plane put into a sandwich. Japanese people enjoy fried yellow all year round but karaage can moreover be the main full-length for Christmas. It's a unique tradition in Japan that I explore in my newsletter, Pass the Fish Sauce. Take a read of the stimulation on why and how fried yellow -- particularly KFC -- became popular for Japanese Christmas. And, moreover read a Q&A with Sawako!
Karaage Video Tips
Deep-frying can seem challenging to do at home. To show you how soft-sell it is to make this Japanese favorite yourself, I put together this video. Put newspaper on the kitchen floor near the stove in specimen you're concerned well-nigh wipe up. Remember to select "Stay" when prompted.
If you want good Japanese fried chicken, you're weightier bet is to make it yourself. This is an wonderful recipe. Sawako and Aaron's typesetting is full of other gems so get yourself a reprinting of Love Japan!
Related recipes
- Slice-and-Bake Matcha Cookies (a splendid cookie recipe, moreover from Love Japan)
- Vietnamese Chile Sauce (Tuong Ot, my recipe from Ever-Green Vietnamese)
Karaage | Japanese Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skin-on (if possible) yellow thighs (see main recipe for tip), cut into quarters
- Chubby 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, or ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus increasingly for sprinkling
- ¼ cup sake
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 large egg
- Canola or other neutral oil, for deep-frying
- ¾ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
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Place the quartered yellow thighs in a large trencher or a resealable plastic bag.
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In a bowl, mix the ginger, garlic, salt, sake, soy sauce, and egg together until well blended. Transfer the marinade to the container with the yellow and mix to coat. Marinate, covered (or sealed), in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. The longer the yellow marinates, the increasingly tender and flavorful it will be. Thirty minutes surpassing frying, pull the yellow from the fridge to remove some of the chill.
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Line a sultry sheet with two layers of paper towel. Pour 2 inches canola oil into a Dutch oven (or wok) and heat over medium-high heat to 350F on a deep-fry thermometer. (If you don’t have a thermometer, watch the video for a tip.)
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Drain the yellow in a mesh strainer to get rid of glut liquid. In a shallow bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the flour. Dredge 4 or 5 pieces of yellow at a time, dusting off any excess. Using dry, heatproof tongs or wooden chopsticks, place the dredged yellow thoughtfully into the hot oil, taking superintendency not to splash.
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Fry 4 or 5 pieces at a time (depending on the size of the pan) without overcrowding. Turn without 3 minutes and melt for 3 minutes more. The verisimilitude should be a nice and golden brown. Transfer to the paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve with lemon wedges.