Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) (VIDEO)
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Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) is one of my favorite ways to make fried chicken – the chicken is so flavorful from the soy-sake marinade and the potato starch makes for the lightest, crispiest crust!
Watch the Chicken Karaage Recipe Video!
A Note from CJ
The key to the best Chicken Karaage is..
Chicken Karaage is light, crispy, and full of flavor – I’ve been making it at home for years with my homemade Spicy Mayo! Two key tips: don’t skip the sake (it adds a distinct flavor to the chicken that’s hard to mimic) and use katakuriko powder, which is a Japanese potato starch. It’s less gritty than cornstarch, which makes for a lighter, airier crunch!
If you love fried chicken like I do, try my Fried Chicken (or Air Fryer Fried Chicken), Fried Chicken Tenders (or Air Fryer Chicken Tenders), Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken, Baked Chicken Wings or Air Fryer Chicken Wings!
This is my go-to for chicken karaage. The chicken is so light and airy and flavorful. Everyone agrees it’s delicious. Thank you!
Delicious, delicately crunchy, and super flavoursome – this is a must try. Really easy to make and don’t be put off by the double frying, it’s worth it for the light crunch. Also, I’d never used potato starch before so that was a revelation! Sublime with the Mayo. Thank you!
Ingredient Tips
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- chicken thighs – I recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs – you can use chicken breast if you prefer.
- sake – Sake has a distinct flavor profile that is hard to replace. If you don’t have it, you can try sherry, mirin, shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, or even chicken stock.
- potato starch – Use potato starch that is labeled as ‘katakuriko’ (see image below) – Japanese potato starch has a finer texture that makes for the lighest, crispiest crunch. Katakuriko is preferred, otherwise use regular potato starch (Bobs Red Mill is great!). In a pinch you can use cornstarch.
How to Make Chicken Karaage
Marinate And Dredge The Chicken – Add the 1″ chicken pieces to a bowl along with the garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, white pepper, and salt. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Add potato starch to a tray and dredge the marinated chicken pieces until fully coated.
Fry (And Double Fry!) The Chicken – Add the neutral oil to a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Heat the oil to 350°F and fry half of the chicken pieces for 3-4 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove the chicken to a wire rack lined tray and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Heat the oil back to 350°F and fry all the chicken pieces at once for 1-2 minutes or until the color is a deep, golden brown. Remove from the oil to the wire rack to let cool. Serve with spicy mayo and enjoy!
My Pro Tip
CJ’s Recipe & Storage Tips
Pack in the dredge – Make sure your chicken has no bald spots by packing in the potato starch well for maximum crispiness. Shake off any excess before frying.
Oil temperature – Ensure the frying oil does not drop below 300F. If this is happening, turn up the heat or fry the chicken in smaller batches. For this reason, I recommend frying in a dutch oven which retains heat well and will keep the temperature of the oil hot.
Storage Tips – Store any leftover Chicken Karaage in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. The chicken will soften as it sits in the refrigerator – this is normal! You can reheat leftovers in the air fryer or oven at 375F for 6-8 minutes to restore some of the crispiness; otherwise you can also reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
If you tried this Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Chicken Karaage (VIDEO)
Equipment
- Infrared Thermometer or Candy Thermometer
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb chicken thigh, cut into 1" pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup potato starch, katakuriko is preferred, otherwise use regular potato starch (Bobs Red Mill is great!)
- 1 quart neutral oil, for frying; I used avocado oil
- lemon wedge, optional
Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
- 4 tbsp Japanese mayo
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cut boneless chicken thigh into 1" pieces. Add the chicken to a bowl along with the garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, white pepper, and salt. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Add the potato starch to a tray and dredge the marinated chicken pieces until fully coated. Use your hands to pack the coating of each piece onto the chicken. Shake off any excess potato starch.
- Add the neutral oil to a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Heat the oil to 350°F and fry half of the chicken pieces for 3-4 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove the chicken to a wire rack lined tray and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Ensure the oil does not drop down below 300°F by frying in smaller batches. Remove the chicken from the oil and use a mesh strainer to strain any loose pieces of batter from the oil to prevent burning.
- Heat the oil to 350°F and fry all the chicken pieces at once for 1-2 minutes or until the color is a deep, golden brown. Remove from the oil to the wire rack to let cool.
- In a small bowl, mix together Japanese mayo, sriracha, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to make the Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken, serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage) recipe was originally published in March 2023, and updated in November 2025.
Made this for a party and everyone loved it! I only fried it once and then put it in the oven at 200 to keep it crispy and it worked great. The flavor ratio in this recipe is phenomenal!
Thank you Ashley! I’m so glad everyone loved it!
This is my go-to for chicken karaage. The chicken is so light and airy and flavorful. Everyone agrees it’s delicious. Thank you!
Thanks so much Josephine!
This was the best thing to mankind! Thank you so much, rolling in glutton, best recipe ever, no joke.
So glad you loved it, Lauren!
Prolly the best karaage I had. Husband agrees. Thank you for sharing
That makes me so happy! I’m thrilled you both loved it!
I followed this recipe just as it is written & can say it’s the best KARAAGE ever.
The instructions & tips were easy to follow & useful.
Thankyou.
Thank you so much, Carol!
Can I substitute corn starch for the potato starch or will that significantly change the texture?
It will change the texture a little bit. I’d try to get potato starch if you can to get the intended effect! You can find it easily on amazon.