Japanese Fried Chicken

Chicken Karaage (Sesame Fried Chicken) Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs, cut into cubes
3 inches ginger, peeled, pounded with a mortar and pestle to extract 2 tablespoons juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons Japanese cooking sake
2 tablespoon Japanese mirin
Cornstarch, for coating
Oil, for deep frying
Sesame, for garnishing

Miso Mayo Dip:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons white miso paste
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or Japanese rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
Pinch of sugar

Method:

(1) Use paper towels to pat dry the chicken pieces and transfer to a bowl. 

(2) Add in the ginger juice, soy sauce, sake, mirin and marinate for 30 minutes. 

(3) Transfer the chicken pieces out of the Marinade and coat them evenly with corn starch. Shake off excess.

(4) Make the Miso Mayo Dip by whisking all the ingredients together. Set aside.

(5) Deep-fry in oil for two times. Heat up a wok/pot of cooking oil.

(6) When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken pieces into the oil and quickly deep fry them until they turn golden brown. Transfer them out onto a plate and wait for a couple of minutes. 

(7) Put the chicken back into the oil and deep-fry until golden brown and crunchy. 

(8) Dish out to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil, serve hot with the Miso Mayo Dip.

Cook’s Note:

Deep-frying twice ensures that the chicken pieces are crunchy and stay crunchy even after a few hours.