Karaage don is the ultimate comfort dish for fried chicken lovers like myself! Fluffy white rice topped with shredded cabbage and crispy pieces of Japanese-style fried chicken, the homemade sweet sauce takes it to another level too!
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What is Karaage Donburi?
"Karaage (唐揚げ)" is commonly recognized as Japanese fried chicken, while "donburi (どんぶり)" refers to rice bowl dishes. So, "Karaage Don" essentially means a rice bowl topped with Japanese fried chicken.
However, just to clarify, "karaage" isn't just about chicken. It's a frying technique that omits batter, and many other ingredients can be cooked this way too. But I won't delve into the details now.
To learn more about karaage specifically, check out my karaage recipe.
How I Developed This Recipe
While karaage donburi may seem straightforward, I won't settle for merely placing fried chicken over rice.
After reflecting on how to elevate my previous karaage and tatsuta-age recipes, I decided to craft a unique sauce.
This sauce pairs wonderfully with rice, and I highly recommend giving it a try!
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
- Boneless chicken thigh: Opt for chicken thighs, as chicken breasts tend not to yield good results with this karaage recipe.
- Soy sauce: For a quality yet budget-friendly option, Kikkoman soy sauce is a solid choice. For a comprehensive guide on selecting the right soy sauce in Japanese cuisine, refer to our complete guide.
- Sake: If unavailable, white wine or dry sherry make suitable substitutes.
- Black pepper: Alternatively, white pepper can be used.
- Grated garlic: For convenience, garlic paste is a viable alternative.
- Grated ginger: Ginger paste can also be used as a quick substitute.
- Potato starch: Corn starch or tapioca starch are acceptable replacements if unavailable.
- Cooked Japanese short-grain rice: This is fundamental for crafting the perfect rice bowl. For insights on cooking rice, refer to my guide on how to prepare Japanese rice.
- Green cabbage: Shred and layer it atop the rice, creating a bed for the chicken.
- Toppings: My choice of garnishes includes finely chopped green onion, red pickled ginger (benishoga), toasted white sesame seeds and chili threads.
I have listed my recommended Japanese condiments, tools, and ingredients in the Sudachi Recipes Amazon shop. If you want to keep making various Japanese foods at home, please check it out!
Step-by-Step Process
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make delicious and crispy karaage don with a sweet homemade sauce. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the printable recipe card below.
Cut the boneless skin-on chicken thigh into large bitesize pieces.
Mix soy sauce, sake, black pepper, grated garlic and ginger paste in a container. Once combined, add the chicken pieces and coat thoroughly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce. Take a small saucepan and add grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce mirin, sake, honey, water, rice vinegar and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then lower to medium-low. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside for later.
Start heating a deep pan with about 3cm (1 inch) of cooking oil to 160°C (320°F).
While you wait for the oil to heat up, take the chicken out of the fridge and sprinkle the potato starch on a plate. Shake the excess marinade off each piece of chicken before coating it evenly with the starch.
Once the oil is hot, place the chicken in the pan and fry for 3 minutes on each side.
Increase the heat to 190°C (374°F) and fry for 1 minute on each side.
Transfer to a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
Divide cooked rice between serving bowls and top with shredded cabbage.
Optional step: Reheat the sauce on the stove and add the chicken to the pan. Cook for a few minutes while turning the chicken to ensure it's fully coated. This will make the flavor of the sauce more intense but it might sacrifice some crispiness of the chicken.
Place the chicken on top of the cabbage. If you didn't follow the optional step above, then pour the sauce over the karaage and add your choice of toppings. I added chopped green onion, pink pickled ginger, sesame seeds and chili threads.
Enjoy!
Storage
Generally, it's not advised to store an entire bowl of assembled karaage don. If you're looking to save some for later (or you're meal prepping), it is best to store each element separately. For more information about storing rice, see here.
Should there be any leftovers, you can either freeze the karaage or refrigerate it, ensuring consumption within 2-3 days.
Reheating in the microwave might cause the karaage to lose its crispiness. My preferred method is to microwave it just enough to warm the inside, then finish it under the grill to regain the outer crisp. If you choose to freeze it, it'll stay good for about 1-2 months.
Storage summary
Room temperature - Not recommended.
Refrigerated - 2-3 days (only karaage).
Frozen - Up to a month (only karaage).
I hope you enjoy this delicious karaage don recipe! If you try it out, I'd really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It's also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Donburi Recipes
I love donburi dishes. They're so filling, satisfying, and versatile. You can check out some of my favorite donburi recipes below.
- Katsudon (Deep-fried pork cutlet with steamed egg and onions on rice)
- Gyudon (Simmered beef and onions on rice)
- Oyakodon (Chicken, egg, and onions on rice)
- Yakiniku Don (Grilled meat in yakiniku sauce on rice)
If you want to check out more donburi recipes, please see my list of best Japanese rice bowl recipes.
Crispy Karaage Don (Japanese Fried Chicken Rice Bowl)
Ingredients
Karaage
- 300 g boneless chicken thigh(s) - preferably skin-on
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp grated garlic - or garlic paste
- 1 tsp grated ginger - or ginger paste
- 5 tbsp potato starch - or corn starch
- cooking oil - for shallow frying
Sauce
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- ½ tbsp grated garlic
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 pinch pepper
Donburi
- 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- 70 g green cabbage - shredded
- finely chopped green onion(s)
- red pickled ginger - (benishoga) optional
- white sesame seeds
- chili threads - optional
Instructions
Karaage
- Cut 300 g boneless chicken thigh(s) into bite size pieces.
- Take a container and add 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sake, ⅛ tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp grated garlic and 1 tsp grated ginger. Mix to combine and add the chicken pieces. Mix until fully coated and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While waiting for the chicken to marinate, add 1 tsp grated ginger, ½ tbsp grated garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp rice vinegar and 1 pinch pepper to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to medium-low and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Set aside for later.
- After 30 minutes, add 3cm (just over 1 inch) of cooking oil to a deep pan and heat to 160 °C. While you're waiting for it to heat up, sprinkle about 5 tbsp potato starch onto a plate and take the marinated chicken from the fridge. Coat each piece evenly with starch, making sure to shake off the excess marinade before coating.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and fry for about 3 minutes on each side.
- Increase the heat to 190 °C and fry for 1 minute on each side.
- Transfer to a wire rack to drain excess oil.
Assembly
- Divide 2 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice and 70 g green cabbage into serving bowls.
- Place the karaage on top and drizzle with sauce (alternatively, you can cook the karaage in the sauce for a few minutes to cover it more thoroughly). Top with finely chopped green onion(s), red pickled ginger, white sesame seeds and chili threads.
- Enjoy!
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