Karaage

Karaage, pronounced as ‘ka-RA-AH-geh’ or Japanese Fried Chicken is a popular dish in Japan. Karaage is traditionally a deep fried chicken (or veggies or seafood) however this nontraditional way is shallow fried that yields the same crispy golden brown results! This version is also Paleo, Gluten Free, and Whole30 friendly.

Karaage is essentially a Japanese style cooking technique in which various foods—most often chicken, but also other meats, vegetables and fish—are deep fried in oil. The process involves lightly coating small pieces of the meat, vegetable or fish with some flour, or potato or corn starch, and then frying in a light hot oil.

Japanese fried chicken is quite easily one of the greatest types of fried chicken there is in the world. It’s exceptionally flavorful, juicy, ultra-crispy, and absolutely worth hanging out in the kitchen to make it! Learn the simple techniques and fry up some glorious chicken at home today.

For chicken karaage, it’s essentially bite-size chicken thigh dusted with flour and deep-fried in hot oil. With tender and juicy marinated chicken coated in a crispy shell, Karaage is a staple in Japanese home-cooked meals.

Serve these crunchy bits of chicken with some Vegetable Chow Mien, Hainanese Chicken Rice or Szechuan Beef.

Karaage

Pin Recipe

Print Recipe

Karaage is a Japanese favorite fried chicken dish served with citrus and green onions.

• Author: A Dash of Dolly
• Prep Time: :35
• Cook Time: :10
• Total Time: :45
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Fried
• Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

Scale 1/2x1x2x3x4x

• 4–6 skin-on boneless chicken thighs
• 2 garlic cloves minced or grated
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or Japanese sake
• 1 tsp kosher salt more to taste
• 1 cup potato starch or cornstarch*
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup avocado oil more depending on size of skillet
• lemon wedges for serving

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Cut chicken thighs into 3-4 bite size pieces.

2. In a bowl, add in the chicken thighs, garlic, ginger, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and kosher salt. Mix until well combined and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat with avocado oil. Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. While oil is heating up, add potato starch to a shallow bowl. Lightly coat each piece of chicken thigh in potato starch making sure to shake off any excess.

5. Add chicken to the skillet (making sure not to overcrowd, cook in batches if you need to) and cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.

6. Place fried chicken on a paper towel lined plate and season with kosher salt to taste.

7. Air Fryer method: Place chicken into air fryer basket skin side up. Lightly spray with cooking oil and cook at 375F for 20 minutes tossing halfway through. Try not to overcrowd the air fryer. Cook in batches if you need to.

8. Serve karaage with lemon wedges. Be sure to squeeze lemon over chicken before eating!

Notes

*If you can’t find potato starch or don’t want to use cornstarch, you can substitute both with tapioca flour/starch.

Air Fryer method: when dredging chicken, make sure to shake off any excess potato starch. This is really important. Place chicken into air fryer basket skin side up. Lightly spray with cooking oil and cook at 375F for 20 minutes tossing halfway through.