Chicken karaage, or JFC (Japanese fried chicken), is a crisp, juicy alternative to heavier breaded or battered chicken. It’s scrummy hot or cold.
Ingredients
| 600 g | Boneless chicken thighs, skin on (Main) |
| 1 Tbsp | Grated ginger |
| ¼ tsp | Crushed garlic |
| 1 Tbsp | Soy sauce, plus 1 Tbsp extra if needed |
| 2 Tbsp | Sake |
| 1 pinch | Black pepper |
| 4 cm | Vegetable oil, in wok for frying |
| ½ cup | Potato starch, or use cornflour |
| 1 | Lemon |
| 1 serving | Japanese mayonnaise, or dipping sauce |
Dipping sauce
| 1 | Lemon, zest and juice |
| 1 Tbsp | Rice wine vinegar |
| 1 Tbsp | Honey |
| 1 Tbsp | Sake |
| 1 tsp | Sesame oil |
| ¼ tsp | Crushed garlic |
| ½ tsp | Soy sauce |
Directions
- Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and place them in a bowl.
- Add ginger, crushed garlic, soy sauce, sake and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Mix together well, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Heat approximately 4cm vegetable oil in a wok until just smoking.
- Into a clean paper bag add potato starch or cornflour and dredge the chicken pieces by shaking them in the bag.
- Shake off excess and fry in batches, turning until crispy and a light golden colour.
- Drain on kitchen paper towels, and serve with a squeeze of lemon, some Japanese mayonnaise or a dipping sauce.
- To make the dipping sauce, whisk all ingredients together.