Chicken Karage
Japanese fried chicken
Servings 2 modest servings
Ingredients
- 2 thighs MCAS-safe chicken (see know your ingredients) boneless, skinless
- 1/2 cup faux soy sauce (see recipe)
- 1 tsp green peppercorns in brine (not dried!), smashed
- 1/2 cup cornstarch (easy) or sweet-potato starch (better)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda helps to promote browning if you aren't using sweet-potato starch.
- Safflower or other neutral oil for frying
- Flaky salt such as Maldon or Diamond Crystal
Instructions
- Mash together smashed green peppercorn and Faux Soy to make a marinade.
- Slice chicken thigh into roughly 3/4" inch chunks. Pieces should be easy to eat. If you want them large, make sure they aren't more than about 1/2" thick.
- Marinate chicken pieces in Faux Soy-peppercorn mix under refrigeration for 1 to 10 hours, as schedule allows.
- Combine starch (and baking soda if using) in a shallow bowl and mix well. Evenly coat dripping-wet chicken pieces in the starch. The residual marinade should capture the starch and and be powdery white when fully coated.
- Place dredged chicken chunks on a rack for 30 minutes. During this time the powdery coating should become moist and turn dark. If dry starch remains, you can gently brush off the dry powder to improve the appearance—but it's not strictly necessary.
- Deep fry in small batches in a wok or small saucepan at 350-360°F for about 1 minute. Transfer to a paper towel and immediately sprinkle with flaky salt.
Notes
Serve this dish on a bed of short-grain rice (plain or sushi-style seasoned, see recipe) with a vegetable side. Some good pairings are instapickles (see recipe), sunomono (see recipe) or sauteed leafy greens (especially Hakurei-turnip greens). Garnish with pan-toasted whole sesame seeds for extra flair.
Tips for frying: If you do not have a thermometer, heat the oil until it just begins to smoke (which is usually around 375°F). You will usually want the stove on high or medium-high after the food goes in, because the food cools the oil quickly. To promote even cooking, gently tilt and rock the pan to continuously wash the hot oil over the chicken. Rotate the chicken pieces half-way through. Remove from oil when golden brown and allow to rest on a paper towel. The chicken will continue to cook while resting. You can test the larger pieces to make sure their cooked and, if not, re-fry them for another minute.
A note on oil: I prefer to use safflower, because it has a more neutral taste, but it's somewhat expensive. Canola is OK. The classic flying oil is peanut oil, but given potential for peanut allergens, I have avoided here—though generally oils are pretty devoid of allergens.
