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.
love love this recipes ever since the first time we made it it’s so yummy and tasty and the flavor is the bomb thank you
This was delicious. So flavorful and light. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Super easy recipe to follow. I can’t order most Asian take away food as my son has an egg and sesame allergy. I love CJs recipes because they easy to follow, ingredients are easy to find and often stocked in pantry and my family loves it. This is one of our favorites to make!
Love this recipe. Just as good as any restaurant I’ve been to
I can’t stop coming back to this recipe every time I need crispy crunchy (but somehow impossibly light) fried chicken. I simply cannot and will not stop. This is perfection. DO NOT MISS THIS KARAAGE
Your chicken karaage recipe makes it worth the cleanup of frying. It is so delicious, thank you for sharing it. I did not have to make the sauce, as it tasted so good on its own.
Thank you Mae!
Oh MY, it looks great! Can’t wait to cook em this Sunday!
Enjoy! Please let me know how it turns out!
Can I use breast meat instead of thigh meat?
yes!
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- you could season it and substitute it in all kinds of dishes where you want a light crisp coating – I think t it could be great on fish and seafood too! Sublime with the Mayo. Thank you!
Thank you, Mary! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This was perfection! Thank you for this – I love your recipes!