Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Fried Chicken is fried chicken right? Wrong! Karaage is a fantastic style of fried chicken, and one of my favorites. The Starch makes it significantly crispier than what we have here in the states, and the marinade gives some complex flavors. Give this a try next time you fry up some chicken!

YouTube Instructional: https://youtu.be/BA0ciu-I0TY

Ingredients:
~3.5 Lbs Chicken Thighs
Potato Starch (can substitute corn starch if necessary)
Kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise (optional)
Oil (for frying) - I used Corn

Marinade:
1.5 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
3 cloves smashed garlic
2 Tbsp Sake
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Sesame oil

Step 1: Trim the Chicken

If your chicken thighs are bone in, carefully remove the bone

Trim off any extra skin or fatty pieces, and cut into uniform 1.5 squares

Step 2: Marinade the Chicken

Put the chicken cubes into a zip lock bag and set aside

Mix together the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, and sesame oil and, and pour into the ziplok bag

Mix together thorougly

Put the bag into the fridge to marinade 24-48 hours

Step 3: Coat the chicken

Take the marinaded chicken out of the zip lock and pour off any excess

One by one, completely coat each piece in potato starch

Put onto a wire rack, and then back into the fridge for an hour or two

Step 4: Fry at around 300-325 degrees

In batches, fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes at 300-325

Step 4: Fry at 350-375

Bump the fry oil temp up to 350-375

Refry all of the chicken for around 2 min each

We are looking for a nice brown color

Serve with kewpie or soy sauce

Enjoy!