I feel that a little trip to the land of the rising sun would not displease you. Personally, although I worked in a Japanese restaurant during my Montreal period, I only knew about Super Crispy Karaage when I spent 2 years in Japan.
And I became gaga over it. For me, they are the crispiest and juiciest chicken nuggets in the world.
So, if you want to melt with pleasure while biting into them, follow me. You will learn how to make super crispy chicken karaage, thanks to the secret I will reveal to you.
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Kara what?
Karaage is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. You can find it everywhere at home of course, but also in izakayas, bars, bentos, as a little extra to order with your ramen...
You find it everywhere.
And the best known karaage is the tori no karaage, the marinated chicken leg. The fried chicken bites are both crispy and juicy.
The marinade
You can do your karaage without marinating them but I strongly advise you to prepare a small bath before frying them.
Personally, after removing the thigh bones, I cut them into 6. The pieces should be about 5cm apart so that they can be easily eaten with chopsticks.
The marinade is a mixture of soy sauce, mirin (rice vinegar), sake (Nihon shu) and grated ginger. You dip your pieces in your bowl and leave them in it for at least 30 minutes.
What do you eat with it?
Karaage is traditionally served with a slice of lemon and Japanese mayonnaise.
You can accompany it with rice, of course, but also with a salad and miso soup.
Sometimes I serve it with pumpkin soup during the winter, simmered Kabocha seaweed or daikon salad, or silky tofu.
The secret to super crispy karaage
As I told you in the introduction, there is a secret to making your nuggets super crispy.
But before you fry them, you will have to roll them in potato or cornstarch.
You can also roll them in flour; I couldn't help myself; or a flour/starch mixture. However, I find that the starch makes the breadcrumbs lighter and more digestible.
"So you give me your secret! »
Ok, ok I can feel your fangs!
You have to fry them twice, well yes like our fries.
Plunge first the chicken in a bath at 165°C for 2 minutes.
Take it out and let it rest on a paper towel for 3-4 minutes.
Finish cooking by frying at 190°C for 1 minute. And with this technique, you will get super crispy chicken karaage. Because, not only will the chicken be tender and juicy inside, but it will be so crispy that I should hear you biting into it!
Print📖 Recipe
Karaage - Super Crispy Chicken Nuggets
The famous chicken karaage recipe, these divine nuggets, super crispy in the mouth, that will take you far beyond your plate.
It would surprise me if you only made this recipe once.
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 6
- Total Time: 46 minutes
- Category: Street food
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs,
- 2 cm of grated ginger,
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce,
- 2 tablespoons of mirin (Japanese wine vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons of sake (nihon-shu)
- 70 g of potato starch or cornstarch
Instructions
- remove skin, if desired; bone and cut chicken thighs into bites,
- mix the soy sauce, mirin, sake and ginger, then add the chicken pieces. Mix well and
- marinate at least 30 minutes,
- heat your oil to 320°F (160°C),
- Drain the chicken pieces, if necessary. Pane them in the starch,
- Fry them for 2 minutes in small quantities, then take them out, placing them on absorbent paper,
- let them rest for 3, 4 minutes. The chicken continues to cook gently.
- before dressing, plunge them again for 1 minute in oil at 370°F (190°C),
- Serve them with a piece of lemon and Japanese mayonnaise.
Notes
- You can use chicken breast. In this case, the cooking time is reduced because the chicken breast is less juicy.
- You can marinate your chicken between 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking. If this is the case, leave it at room temperature. I've marinated it for 24 hours in the fridge and then I take it out 1 hour before cooking.
- It is possible to put grated garlic in the marinade, but it is not mandatory.
- In order not to lower the temperature of the oil, put only 5-6 pieces at a time.
- The chicken continues to cook slowly during the phase out of the oil, resulting in a tender and juicy chicken.
- Do not hesitate to serve them with the shichimi togarashi
- You will find the recipe for Japanese mayonnaise on Just One Cook Book
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Keywords: karaage, fried, chicken, nuggets
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