Chicken karaage gets a thin, crispy crust from potato starch and stays juicy inside. Ginger, garlic and soy sauce flavor the chicken thighs, while lemon and crunchy cabbage salad add freshness alongside the fried chicken.
Karaage is a Japanese method of preparing fried ingredients, often marinated; chicken is a popular version. The exact marinade and method vary from recipe to recipe. Here, soy sauce, ginger and garlic give the chicken a savory, aromatic base without overpowering the flavor of the meat. Chicken thighs work well for this preparation: they stay juicier than chicken breast during the short cooking time and are easy to cut into evenly sized pieces.
Potato starch, often sold as katakuriko in Japanese shops, forms a light, crisp crust. Regular potato starch from the supermarket works well here. Cornstarch is also an option, but gives a slightly different bite. Don’t wipe off all the excess marinade: a thin coating helps the starch stick. Coat the chicken in starch just before frying, so the coating stays dry and loose instead of turning damp and sticky.
Double-frying is about control, not complicated technique. The first fry cooks the chicken; during a short rest, steam can escape from the crust. A second, shorter fry makes the outside hot and crisp again. Keep the oil at temperature and fry in small batches: adding too much chicken at once cools the oil and makes the crust greasier. A kitchen or deep-fry thermometer makes it easier to check both the oil temperature and whether the chicken is cooked through.
The cabbage salad adds acidity and crunch to balance the warm, savory chicken. White cabbage is available all year; slice it thinly so the dressing softens the strips slightly without making them limp. Don’t have rice vinegar? Use mild cider vinegar and add it a little at a time, since it can taste sharper. The sesame oil is there as an accent; leave it out if you prefer a more neutral salad. Serve with the lemon wedges and squeeze them over the chicken just before eating.
Karaage goes well with steamed rice or as part of a meal with, for example, cucumber and miso soup. It’s best to make the cabbage salad shortly before serving; it softens if left for too long. Refrigerate leftover chicken, covered, within two hours and eat it within two days. Reheat it on a rack in a 200 °C oven until hot all the way through; the crust will usually crisp up again better than it would in the microwave.
Mix the white cabbage with the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and salt. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.
Cut the chicken thighs into pieces about 4 cm across. In a bowl, mix with the soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a sturdy, deep-sided pan to 170 °C. Do not fill the pan more than halfway with oil, and keep a lid within reach in case of an emergency; never put out burning oil with water.
Put the potato starch in a shallow dish. Just before frying, coat the chicken pieces in it and shake off the excess.
Fry the chicken in small batches for 3–4 minutes, until the pieces are golden and cooked through. If needed, check with a thermometer: the internal temperature should be at least 74 °C. Rest the chicken on a rack for 3 minutes.
Raise the oil temperature to 180 °C. Fry the chicken again in batches for 45–60 seconds, until the crust is golden brown and crisp. Drain on the rack.
Toss the cabbage salad once more and serve with the warm karaage and lemon wedges.
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