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Crisp Chicken Karaage with green beans and a wedge of lemon.
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Karaage (から揚げ)

With juicy marinated chicken coated in an ultra-crisp shell, Karaage (から揚げ) is a staple of Japanese home cooking and one of the most popular items to pack into a bento box lunch in Japan.
Course Appetizer, Entree, Snack
Cuisine Best, Japanese
Keyword bento, chicken, easy, fried
Level Beginner
Main Ingredient Poultry
Diet Dairy-Free, Low Sugar
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Marination 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 450kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

For kaarage marinade

  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon sake
  • 25 grams fresh ginger (grated)

For the chicken

  • 900 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs (cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 170 grams potato starch
  • vegetable oil (for frying)
  • ½ lemon (sliced into wedges for serving)
Grams + US Cups - US Standard

Instructions

  • To make the karaage marinade, mix the ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoon sake, and 25 grams fresh ginger in a bowl to combine.
    ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoon sake, 25 grams fresh ginger
    Karaage marinade made of soy sauce, sake, and ginger.
  • Add the 900 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs and mix well to coat each piece with the kaarage marinade. Cover and refrigerate, allowing the pieces of chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
    900 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs
    Marinating chicken thighs in soy sauce, ginger, and sake for making karaage.
  • When you are ready to fry the karaage, add 1 inch of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot or deep fryer and heat until the oil temperature reaches 340 degrees F (170 C). Prepare a paper towel-lined wire rack.
    vegetable oil
  • While you wait for the oil temperature to rise, add the 170 grams potato starch to a shallow bowl and dredge the marinated chicken to coat each piece evenly, tapping off any excess potato starch with your hand. Set the coated pieces on a tray.
    170 grams potato starch
    Dusting marinated chicken in potato starch for karaage.
  • When the deep frying oil is ready, fry the coated chicken pieces in batches. Don't overcrowd the pot, and fry chicken in batches that have roughly the same size pieces so they will cook at about the same time.
    Karaage frying in oil in a cast iron pot.
  • After a few minutes, start checking the pieces of chicken for doneness. When the karaage hits an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (71 C) on a meat thermometer, transfer them to the paper towel-lined wire rack and let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving them. Serve with ½ lemon cut into wedges.
    ½ lemon
    Fried chicken Karaage with green beans draining on paper towels.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 852mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 119IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg