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–+ servings

Chicken Tatsuta Age (Shallow-fried)

Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time43 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients 
 

  • 350 g boneless chicken thigh skin-on
  • 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
  • 1 tbsp sake or dry sherry/white wine
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper or white pepper
  • 2 tsp grated garlic or garlic paste
  • 1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
  • 5 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko) or cornstarch/tapioca starch
  • cooking oil for shallow frying, I use rice bran
  • lemon wedges optional

Instructions 

  • Cut 350 g boneless chicken thigh into bite size pieces. (Approx 50g, 1.7 oz per piece)
    pieces of skin-on chicken thigh cut into bite-size pieces on a black chopping board
  • Add 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tbsp sake, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp grated garlic and 1 tsp grated ginger root to a sealable container. Mix until combined, then add the chicken pieces and mix until evenly coated. Marinate in the fridge for 30 mins.
    After about 25 minutes, start preheating a pan of cooking oil to 160 °C (320 °F). It should be about 3cm deep (just over 1 inch) for shallow frying.
    chicken thigh sprinkled with pepper and then coated in marinade in a metal container
  • Sprinkle about 5 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko) onto a plate. Shake the excess marinade off each chicken piece before rolling it in the starch.
    coating marinated chicken thigh in potato starch
  • Once the oil is hot, place the chicken pieces in the pan and shallow fry at 160 °C (320 °F) for 3 minutes on each side.
    Tatsuta-age shallow frying at a lower temperature
  • Increase the heat to 190 °C (374 °F) and fry for 1 minute on each side.
    Tatsuta-age shallow frying at a higher temperature
  • Transfer to a wire rack or absorbent kitchen towels to allow the excess oil to drip off.
    Fried tatsuta-age draining on a wire rack
  • Serve with a squeeze of lemon wedges and enjoy.

Notes

Avoid mirin in the marinade because its natural sugars cause the coating to brown too quickly and can overpowder the clean flavors of garlic, ginger, and soy.
Keep marinating time to around 30 minutes for the best balance of flavor and juiciness.
Choose potato starch for a crisp, shattering crust, use cornstarch only as a backup with a slightly softer texture.
Add a second light dredge of potato starch if you want a thicker, crunchier outer shell.
Cool fried chicken on a wire rack to prevent steam from softening the crust. Never paper towels!
Serving ideas: Freshly Cooked Japanese Rice, Authentic Miso Soup, Cucumber Tsukemono, Spinach Ohitashi Salad
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days, or freeze fully cooled pieces for up to 1 month.