Recipe Video Above. One of the most popular Japanese dishes, not only within Japan but abroad, Karaage Chicken is pretty easy to make as long as you don't mind deep frying. Just marinate the chicken, toss in flour, and deep fry. Simple as that. The key is double frying so that the chicken becomes crunchy outside and juicy inside.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 350g/12.3oz chicken thigh fillets , cut into large bite size pieces (Note 1)
- 20g/0.7oz corn flour / cornstarch
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1/2 tsp mirin (Note 2)
- 2 tsp freshly grated ginger including juice
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage
- Sprigs of parsley
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Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towel. Put the chicken and the Marinade ingredients into a ziplock bag or a bowl.
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Massage the bag well ensuring that all pieces are coated with the marinade. Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
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Heat enough oil in a deep pot or pan to 160°C/320°F (note 3). The depth of the oil should be about 3-4cm/1¼-1½”.
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Meanwhile, drain excess marinade from the chicken, place the chicken pieces on paper towels to remove excess liquid, and put them in a bowl.
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Sprinkle over the corn flour and turn chicken to coat every piece with corn flour.
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Fry chicken in batches. Add several chicken pieces to the oil one by one and fry for about 2.5-3 minutes (note 4). You may want to move the chicken pieces around as they tend to stick to the bottom of the pot/pan.
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Take the chicken pieces out of the oil and rest for at least 3-4 minutes (note 5) on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
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Skim any flour crumbs from the oil if there are any and increase the temperature of the oil to 190-200°C/374-392°F (note 3).
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Put the chicken pieces back into the oil in batches and fry for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until golden brown and crunchy. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
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Serve immediately with shredded lettuce and parsley for decoration if using.
1. I cut the chicken thigh into about 5 x 4cm/2 x 1.6". You can make it smaller or slightly larger. Then cooking time would need to be adjusted.
2. Sugar can be substituted for mirin. The sweetness of sugar vs mirin is 2:1 so use 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Make sure you mix the marinade well to dissolve.
3. I don't normally use a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. I dip a pair of bamboo chopsticks in the oil and check the approximate temperature. If tiny bubbles are quietly forming around the chopsticks, then it is about 160-165°C/320-329°F, if larger bubbles are quickly rising, it is 180-190°C/356-374°F.
4. To maintain the temperature of the oil, do not overcrowd the oil with too many chicken pieces. I used a 20cm/8" pot and deep fried in 2 batches with no more than 5-6 chicken pieces at once.
5. While resting, the chicken continues to cook slowly resulting in tender juicy chicken.
6. If you are making a large amount of Karaage Chicken, hold the fried chicken in the oven. Before frying the chicken, turn the oven on to around 80-100°C (176-212°F). As you finish frying the chicken pieces for the second time, keep them on the tray in the oven while you fry the others.
7. Nutrition information assumes that the vegetable oil absorbed into the fried chicken is about 8% of the weight of the chicken. Garnish is not included.
serving: 217g calories: 523kcal fat: 40g (62%) saturated fat: 7.9g (40%) trans fat: 0.3g polyunsaturated fat: 8.1g monounsaturated fat: 21g cholesterol: 166mg (55%) sodium: 705mg (29%) potassium: 411mg (12%) carbohydrates: 9.4g (3%) dietary fibre: 0.8g (3%) sugar: 0.7g protein: 30g vitamin a: 3% vitamin c: 0.2% calcium: 1.8% iron: 7.6%
Originally published in September 2016, updated in September 2018 to include a recipe video and Meal Ideas, improved contents with new photos and video in February 2022.