For ➋500 g chicken thighs boneless, skin-on, cut into bites
1 tbs ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tbs soy sauce or tamari
1 tbs sake
2 ts granulated sugar
5 tbs potato starch
vegetable oil for frying
lemon
Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the chicken, then stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 h.
Add 2 cm of vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat until the oil reaches 180°C. Line a wire rack with 2 sheets of paper towels and get your tongs out. Put the potato starch in a bowl.
Add a handful of chicken to the potato starch and toss to coat each piece evenly.
Fry the chicken in batches until the exterior is a medium brown and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the fried chicken to the paper towel lined rack. If you want the chicken to stay crispy longer, you can fry the chicken a second time, until it's a darker color after it's cooled off once.
Serve with lemon wedges. Or with rice balls as a light lunch.
'Karaage' was derived from the Chinese technique of deep frying small pieces of marinated and coated meat or fish. Similar recipes were developed over Eastern Asia, from Malaysia to Thailand. They are popular as starters, light lunches or crunchy appetizer at Japanese izakaya bars. It is also suitable for bento lunch boxes.
Try another izakaya favourite, asparagus bacon rolls.
