Authentic Chicken Karaage (Crispy Japanese Fried Chicken)

Learn everything you need to know about Japanese chicken karaage! This authentic recipe includes tips to make the crispiest, juiciest and tastiest version of this iconic fried chicken dish!

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Jump to:

• Chicken Karaage (Tori no karaage)
• Types of flour/starch you can use
• Ingredients I use for the marinade
• Extra crunchy karaage: hailstone effect
• Different Flavours
• Remake different recipes with leftovers
• Storing and Reheating
• Tips and tricks to avoid failure and make karaage even better
• FAQ
• Step by step recipe
• Community feedback

Chicken Karaage (Tori no karaage)

Karaage is a very special dish for me. My first ever dream when I was kid was to open my own karaage specialty food stand. At that time (more than 20 years ago), it sounded like a very strange dream to have, but here now in 21st century, karaage specialty food stands have become the biggest ever in Japan.

Maybe I should have pursued the dream really but you know, I was like 5 at the time. Anyhow, Karaage is still my favourite dish of all time and I could pretty much eat it everyday, literally.

What is karaage?

Despite the term "karaage" being used for Japanese style fried chicken, it doesn't technically mean "fried chicken". Karaage (から揚げ) is actually a cooking term which means to fry without a batter (unlike tempura). Usually the meat is marinated and mixed with flour to make a batter-like layer. After marinating, optionally, it can then can be coated in a layer starch.

It's simple, but as I said, this is the best ever dish for me. Karaage can also be pork or seafood like mackerel and squid, but if you go to Japan and see "karaage" written somewhere, it pretty much always means "fried chicken".

Parts of the chicken you can use for this recipe

You can technically make karaage with any part of the chicken, but for the best results I recommend using chicken thigh with the skin on (especially this specific recipe is not optimised for chicken breast so be careful). Chicken thigh is the juiciest and tastiest part of the chicken and it's just perfect for karaage.

If you want to use this recipe for other parts, you can use wings or drumsticks, it's good. (Just don't forget to increase the cooking time for thicker meat.) But when it comes to using chicken breast, of course you can still do it, but again this recipe is not optimised for it.

Frying Temperature

There are many different ways to cook karaage out there, you can either deep fry or shallow fry. Make sure to use a mild flavoured oil with a high smoke point like vegetable oil, canola or peanut oil for example.

As I mentioned, I deep fry chicken and like to use a double frying technique for a better texture:

• Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F)
• Fry the chicken for 3 mins
• Take them out and set aside for 3 minutes
• Heat up the oil to 180°C (355°F)
• Quickly fry for 30 seconds for the final touch

If you want to shallow fry in a frying pan, you can use this technique below:

• Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F)
• Fry the chicken for 3 mins on each side
• Increase the heat to 190°C (375°F)
• Fry for 1 minute on each side

Types of flour/starch you can use

One of the reasons why there are so many karaage stands in Japan right now is the fact that ideas for karaage are limitless. It's basically the same as there being so many kinds of general fried chicken in the whole world.

One important element you can optimise is the flour/starch. Using different flour/starch makes the world of difference in texture. So I will list all types of flour and starch that are commonly used in Japan.

All purpose flour

I consider this as a classic style as old school karaage uses 100% normal flour. The pro of karaage with 100% flour is the delicious umami taste unique to wheat. It also tends to be soft and juicy. However, there are some reasons why not many people use 100% plain flour karaage these days.

The disadvantage is, they're not as crunchy as the one with starch. Also, it tends to get soggy once cooled down. Some people prefer the sensation, but I want my karaage to be crispy and crunchy all the time.

In this recipe, I mix small amount of normal flour with marinade.

Potato starch

Potato starch (katakuriko) is probably the most commonly used starch in Japan. It has coarse particles, so when it is deep-fried, the white colour remains. A generous dusting gives a wild, crunchy texture, while a thin dusting gives a light and crispy texture.

The downside would that it absorbs oil easily, so it becomes oily and heavy over time after cooled down. Potato starch is made from potato and other starches, so it has little or no flavour. If you're going to eat them, don't miss out on the texture, freshly fried is best!

Cornstarch

I believe corn starch is more accessible and common starch outside Japan. Although it has similar effect to potato starch, its result will be lighter. The flour particles are finer than potato starch, so it will be thinner and the oil doesn't stick as much as corn starch.

Like potato starch, it fries crispy and it is also delicious when mixed with 50% cornstarch and 50% flour.

Rice flour

Rice flour, which is ground rice, is very fine and thinner than any of the ones I mentioned already. It does not absorb oil easily, so it stays crispy and lightly fried and can be eaten in large quantities. You can also subtly taste the flavour of the rice.

Tapioca starch

This is the most modern twist, and I believe it's inspired by the iconic Taiwanese fried chicken, which has become more popular in Japan these days. Some karaage speciality places I have been use tapioca starch. I actually use tapioca starch in this recipe for the final touch.

You can purchase tapioca starch on Amazon.

Pre-made karaage mix

It's not only me whose favourite food is karaage in Japan. So there are so many kinds of pre made flour mix to make karaage at home easily. They're literally pre mixed and flavored so all you need to do is follow the instructions and fry!

Other flour ideas

It's important to kind of experiment every time you make karaage at home. Everyone has different personal preference when it comes to karaage. Other than above, here are the some flour ideas:

Ideas	characteristics
flour 50%, potato starch 50%	All rounder, best of both worlds
flour 50%, rice flour 50%	Light yet juicy
bread flour 50%, cake flour 50%	Heavy and meaty
flour 50%, cornstarch 50%	Hard and crispy

Ingredients I use for the marinade

Another element where you can make your karaage unique is the marinade. There are so many ways and ingredients you can apply and each household has different technique.

Grated ginger

Grated ginger is definitely one element that makes "Japanese fried chicken". Whatever way people make karaage in Japan, I'd say most people would add ginger to create depth of flavour. So it's kind of a must item.

I personally grate ginger with skin on to maximise the gingery flavour, but it's optional. As for the amount, it's really down to whether you like ginger or not but in this recipe, I use 1 ½ tbsp, which is not too gingery but enough to make depth of flavour. Alternatively, you can use pre-made ginger paste.

• Importance: ★★★★★ (5/5)
• Amount in my recipe: 1.5 tbsp
• Alternative: pre-made ginger paste

Coarse sea salt

This is something we cannot forget about. Salt-base karaage cannot be complete without salt. If possible, coarse sea salt is my go-to salt for karaage. In my recipe, I add 1 tsp.

• Importance: ★★★★★ (5/5)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tsp
• Alternative: cannot be omitted

Shiro dashi (white dashi)

This is not a common condiment to have in everyday pantry, but because I want my karaage to be pale in colour, I use shiro dashi instead of soy sauce. White dashi is a Japanese condiment made by adding light soy sauce, mirin and sugar to dashi made from kelp and dried bonito flakes.

The quantity I use in this recipe is 1 tsp. Alternatively, you can use light soy sauce, tsuyu sauce, or general soy sauce instead.

• Importance: ★★★★★ (5/5)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tsp
• Alternative: light soy sauce, tsuyu sauce, or general soy sauce

Grated garlic

This is not as important as ginger, but this is something a lot of people add. The amount also depends on how much you want the garlic taste to shine through, but a general rule of thumb is slightly smaller amount than ginger.

In this recipe, I add 1 tbsp worth but if you're a big fan of garlic, you can add more. Again, alternatively you can use pre-made garlic paste.

• Importance: ★★★★☆ (⅘)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tbsp
• Alternative: pre-made ginger paste

Grated apple

This is my personal favourite ingredient to create depth of flavour these days. To name a few, I use grated apple for shogayaki ginger pork and jingisukan sauce. Don't worry, it does not make the chicken sweet! As for the quantity, I only use ½ tbsp worth. Alternatively, you can use apple juice or apple jam (possibly a bit less amount as they're sweetened).

• Importance: ★★★★☆ (⅘)
• Amount in my recipe: ½ tbsp
• Alternative: apple juice or apple jam (possibly half the amount)

White pepper

Some kind of pepper or spice is always used for any fried chicken in the world. Karaage is not an exception. I personally prefer white pepper to black pepper for karaage, but you can also use black pepper instead.

• Importance: ★★★★☆ (⅘)
• Amount in my recipe: ⅛ tsp
• Alternative: black pepper

Sake (Japanese rice wine)

Sake is another common ingredient to add for karaage. The purpose is mainly to soften the chicken, eliminate the odor and adding subtle sweetness is another bonus. With that in mind, you can alternatively use white wine. If you don't want to use any alcohol in your cooking, you can also completely omit it.

• Importance: ★★★☆☆ (⅗)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tbsp
• Alternative: white wine or omit

Chinese style chicken stock powder

This is an extremely common condiment to have in Japanese household. It is a seasoning made by adding vegetable extracts to soup made by boiling chicken or chicken bones. It is characterised by its light but deep richness and is conveniently and widely used not only in Chinese (chuka) cuisine, but also in Japanese dishes these days. I personally use "Yuki Garasupu" which can be found on Amazon.

The intention is to add more depth but you can omit this and add extra salt instead.

• Importance: ★★★☆☆ (⅗)
• Amount in my recipe: ½ tsp
• Alternative: salt

Japanese mayonnaise

You might think it's a bit strange, but I put a bit of Japanese mayo in my marinade. The main ingredients of mayonnaise are oil, egg yolk and vinegar. The oil in mayonnaise coats the meat and prevents it from becoming dry, while the vinegar softens the meat and reduce the odour of the meat. That leads to moist, juicy karaage!

However, this is completely optional too so you can omit this completely if it's inconvenient to you.

• Importance: ★★☆☆☆ (⅖)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tsp
• Alternative: can completely be omitted

Sesame oil

This is just to add a bit of nice sesame oil flavour inside! You can omit this ingredient completely if you like.

• Importance: ★☆☆☆☆ (⅕)
• Amount in my recipe: 1 tsp
• Alternative: can completely be omitted

Extra crunchy karaage: hailstone effect

Hailstone effect is a kind of modern term for extra crunchy karaage, well I just made it up. Imagine the hailstones, little white balls falling from the sky with great force, the texture seems hard but if you tried to eat it I'm sure it would be light and maybe even crunchy. With this recipe, you can have this hailstone effect on fried chicken! That is to say, you get an extremely crunchy texture.

Hailstone effect can be achieved just with water and starch (potato, corn or tapioca). If you mix it in certain way, you can literally make hailstones.

The details are in the recipe card, but this is only optional for people who like extra crunchiness. You can omit this hailstone process in this recipe and it's also fine! The only thing is, do not add too much water, otherwise it won't work at all.

Different Flavours

Karaage can come in all kinds of different flavours!

Common	Uncommon
Salt base (shio karaage)	Spicy/hot
Soy sauce base (shoyu karaage)	Garlic
	Basil
	Cheese
	Curry
	Ume (pickled plum)

You can create different flavours by using different marinades or adding different herbs and spices to the flour. One thing to note is you don't want your karaage to be overpowered with too much flavour, I actually think simple is better for this dish. You also don't need to marinate any longer that 30 minutes, 30 minutes is pretty much the perfect amount.

Today, I'm going to tell you fairly basic way to make authentic karaage with a salt base, if you like fried chicken in general, it's definitely worth a try!

Remake different recipes with leftovers

In the unlikely case that you end up with leftover karaage, there are a number of ways you can use it! If you make this recipe, there's different ways for you to enjoy it.

• Karaage teishoku set (served with rice, cabbage and miso soup)
• Karaage Onigiri (a rice ball with fried chicken in the centre, usually has sauce)
• Karaage Don (donburi rice bowl topped with karaage, spring onions and mayonnaise)
• Karaage Bento (a lunchbox made with karaage, rice, vegetables etc)

Storing and Reheating

In the unlikely event that there are leftovers, you can freeze karaage or put it in the refrigerator and eat within 2-3 days.

If you microwave it, it will lose some crispiness. I usually microwave it to warm up the middle and then put it under the grill to crisp the outside up again. BUT in all honestly, this karaage still tastes great cold haha. If freezing, you can keep it for 1-2 months.

Tips and tricks to avoid failure and make karaage even better

Even though karaage is a simple recipe, there are always room for failure. Common troubles are below:

• The batter comes off
• Karaage gets burnt
• Meat is too hard...etc

So here is the list to avoid these troubles and make karaage even better at home!

Use chicken thigh (not chicken breast)

You can of course make karaage with chicken breast, but it can be difficult to make it successfully. Using chicken breast can end up causing all of the marinade and batter come off and become a proper nightmare. Chicken breast is also a lean cut which means it's easy to dry it out and lack flavour, there isn't enough fat to make juicy karaage.

That being said, if you want to make karaage with chicken breast, you need to use specific recipe that is optimised for chicken breast to avoid these problems.

Unfortunately, this recipe is intended to be used for chicken thigh, so if you'd like to follow the recipe, avoid chicken breast. On the other hand, you can use this recipe for chicken wings or drumsticks.

Cut each chicken thigh into 40g piece

Cutting chicken into appropriate size is actually important as if it's too small, inside can get tough and if it's too big, it can lead to being raw inside. The basic measure would be 40-50g a piece. It might look too big at first, but chicken thigh shrinks when fried.

Half of the thighs have strong fibres, so to soften them when cutting, cut them in a way that breaks the fibres.

Pierce the chicken with fork

Breaking the fibres makes the chicken thighs extra juicy. This not only makes the chicken softer, but also chicken pieces get well saturated with the marinade as well.

Rest in the fridge with marinade for 1 hour

The difference between the temperature of the oil and the temperature of the chicken leads to crispy karaage. If the water content from the marinade is not dried properly, it will become sticky and the batter will be heavy. This weight can cause the batter to come off. So resting in fridge contribute to avoid the problem too.

Don't overcrowd the pot

The secret to successful frying is to limit the amount of ingredients to about ½ to ⅔ of the surface area of the pot. The reason is that it is important to maintain the right temperature. The temperature drops temporarily if too many chicken are added to the oil. This will result in uneven cooking and a greasy finish.

Double frying

Double frying ensures chicken stays soft yet done.

• Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F)
• Fry the chicken for 3 mins
• Take them out and set aside for 3 minutes
• Heat up the oil to 180°C (355°F)
• Quickly fry for 30 seconds for the final touch

The purpose of the first frying is to allow the chicken to cook to some extent. To achieve this, it is important to fry the chicken at 160°C (320°F). I mentioned 3 minutes, but the approximate timing is when the colour is a light golden brown and the bubbles have quietened down.

When the chicken is removed after the first frying, the centre temperature is low but the outside is hot. Resting for some time allows the heat from the outside to transfer to the centre and cook the entire chicken evenly. This is better than frying in the oil for a long time as inside or outside are less likely to be overcooked.

The first frying and resting with residual heat has mostly cooked them, so the purpose of second frying is to make them crispy. The oil temperature should be set to a high 180-190 °C to allow the surface moisture to evaporate. I set it as 30 seconds, but watch the colour and take out when it looks nicely brown. The ideal temperature of centre of chicken is 75-80°C. If the finished temperature is too high, the chicken ends up being dry.

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