Ingredients for 4 Servings
Chicken breast (鶏むね肉 / Tori mune-niku) 1 (300 g)
Water (水 / Mizu) 3 tbsp
Salt (塩/ Shio) 1/4 tsp
Sugar (砂糖 / Satōh) 1/4 tsp
Soy sauce (醤油 / Shōyu) 1/2 tbsp
Sake (酒 / Sake) 1 tbsp
Grated ginger (おろししょうが / Oroshi shōga) 1 tsp
Soft flour (薄力粉 / Hakurikiko) 1 tbsp
Katakuri flour (片栗粉 / Katakuriko) 1 tbsp
Oil for frying (揚げ油 / Ageh abura) 800 ml (For a pot 24 cm in diameter)

How to Make
karaagechiken1. Use a fork to make holes in the chicken breast. Cut the chicken breast into 12 evenly sized pieces. Place these in a sealable plastic bag and add the water, salt, and sugar. Seal the bag, removing most of the air in the process. Massage the bag to mix the contents well. Set the bag aside for 20 minutes.
2. Next, open the bag and add the soy sauce, sake, and grated ginger. Reseal the bag as you did before, massage to mix, and set the bag aside for about 20 minutes.
3. Add the soft flour and katakuri flour to a bowl and mix. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix, so that all of the pieces of chicken are coated with the flour.
karaage making4. Heat the cooking oil to 160℃. If you do not have a cooking thermometer, you can test the oil temperature by putting the tip of a cooking chopstick into the oil. The oil has reached the right temperature when small bubbles slowly emerge from the submerged chopstick tip. Gently place the chicken pieces into the oil. Cook for 3 minutes, then take the chicken pieces out of the oil.
5. Raise the temperature of the oil to 180°C. If you do not have a cooking thermometer, test the oil temperature by placing one piece of chicken into the oil. The oil is at the right temperature when you see the chicken bubble vigorously in the oil. Once the oil is up to the right temperature, place all the chicken in the oil for 30 seconds. This is to give the chicken a crispy texture. Remove the chicken pieces and place them on a paper towel with a newspaper underneath, or on a rack, to drain off the excess oil.

Recipe Developed by: Machiko Tateno

Advertisement