Chicken Kara age

Classic, crispy Japanese-style fried chicken.

Ingredients:

10 oz (300g) boneless chicken thighs
1 piece fresh ginger, (about the size of your thumb)
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. sake (see substitution notes below)
about 1/2 cup Potato starch (かたくりこ) or cornstarch, (enough to coat the chicken. Potato starch is better, but cornstarch will do)
peanut oil or other vegetable oil, (for deep frying)
a few drops sesame oil, (optional; add to the frying oil for extra flavor)

Cut up the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. You can take off the skin if you like, though it does make the chicken crispier.
Peel and grate the piece of ginger. A microplane grater works great for this task.
Put the chicken pieces in a bowl. Add the grated ginger, soy sauce and sake, and mix well. Let marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes. Around 30 minutes is ideal. If marinating for more than an hour (say, overnight), use 1 tablespoon soy sauce, then add the other 2 tablespoons just before you're ready to cook them; this prevents the salt in the soy sauce from drawing out too much moisture from the chicken.
Heat the oil; if using a temperature-controlled fryer or a thermometer, aim for 180°C / 355°F. If not, a test with a single piece of chicken or a small piece of skin. Toss enough potato or cornstarch into the marinated chicken (drain off a bit of the marinade if it's too watery first) so that each piece is completely coated. Fry the chicken pieces a few at a time until a deep golden brown.
Drain well - a wire rack is best for this, but paper towels work too.
Serve with lemon wedges. Some people like to add a sprinkling of grated yuzu peel and/or sansho pepper.

Alternate marinade

Picture: image.jpeg

Source: http://justhungry.com/2004/04/karaage_japanes.html

Recipe category: Entree