Chicken Karaage

A plate of Japanese fried chicken with lemon

5 from 38 votes

Chicken Karaage, or Japanese Fried Chicken, is coated in potato starch and double fried to perfection! My spicy garlic mayo sauce is a perfect spicy, lemony compliment to the crispy chicken and comes together in minutes!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Marinating Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings:

Author: Chris Joe

Equipment

Dutch Oven
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
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

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cut boneless chicken thigh into 1" pieces.
Marinate with garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, white pepper, and salt. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Take 1 cup of potato starch (katakuriko) and dredge chicken. Make sure to pack the coating in well with your hands. Shake off any excess potato starch.
Heat oil to 350°F and fry chicken in batches for 4 minutes. Ensure the oil does not drop down below 300°F by frying in smaller batches. Remove from oil and use a mesh strainer to strain any loose pieces of coating.
Return oil to 350°F and fry chicken for a 2nd time for 1-2 minutes or until the color is a deep, golden brown.
OPTIONAL: Mix together Japanese mayo, sriracha, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper for an amazing spicy mayo dipping sauce.
OPTIONAL: Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken before serving.

Notes

Ingredient tips:

Sake - You can try sherry, mirin, shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, or even chicken stock, but I would highly encourage you to use sake if you can.
If you don't have white pepper and want to subtitute with black pepper - white pepper has a milder flavor profile than black pepper, so it's not a 1-1 substitute. I would start with less black pepper and add as you go. (But really, you should have white pepper in your pantry! It's a staple in mine!)
Potato starch - this is a KEY ingredient in this recipe, as it is what makes for the unique crunch! I get mine from 99 Ranch but I've also seen it sold on Amazon. The bag may be labeled 'potato starch' or 'katakuriko'. If you cannot find this, you can sub with tapioca flour or cornstarch - you can drizzle a little bit of marinade into the flour or starch to create some craggily bits.
I like to use avocado oil; you can also use canola or vegetable oil.
My favorite mayo is Japanese mayo or Kewpie - it's different from 'regular' mayo as it uses only egg yolks (versus the whole egg) and rice vinegar. This means the mayo is richer, thicker, and has a sweet, tanginess to it that is irresistible! I love to have a bottle of this in my pantry at all times. You can sub with regular mayo if you don't have it on hand - this will be used for the optional spicy garlic mayo dipping sauce!

Make sure your chicken has no bald spots and packing in the coating well. This will give the chicken that crunch we love fried chicken for! Shake off any excess before frying.

Use a thermometer: Using a thermometer such as a candy thermometer or infrared thermometer to monitor the temperature of the frying oil is important! Ensure the 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.

This is optional but I like to squeeze a little lemon juice over the karaage before eating. I find that the lemon juice gives a nice brightness and acidity that balances nicely with the fried chicken. Give it a try if you haven't done this before!

Nutrition