Chicken Karaage (Sesame Fried Chicken) Recipe

October 23, 2008

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Near the Sensoji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, where many street vendors set up stalls to sell various snacks and street food, chicken karaage (唐揚げ) is one of the popular offerings. A quick walk around and you can find many vendors with a big wok/pot of boiling oil, deep-frying their chicken karaage to golden perfection. I had my first real taste of chicken karaage when I first visited Tokyo many years ago and it has since become my favorite. I always order it at Japanese restaurants or izakaya here in the United States--which is commonly labeled as "sesame fried chicken."

Inspired by my recent trip to Tokyo, I made this delicious and crunchy chicken karaage the other day. According to Just Hungry, the word kara means "Chinese" (唐) and "age" means "deep-fried." The cooking method is fundamentally Chinese but as Just Hungry pointed out, I can't think of a Chinese fried chicken dish with the exact recipe! The closest variation would be the popular Taiwanese fried salt and pepper chicken or 盐酥鸡...

Chicken karaage calls for really simple ingredients but the end result is pleasing. I love it that the flavors are very clean--which is a signature style of Japanese cooking. In no time, I finished my one bowl of chicken karaage and had to fry up a second serving to satisfy my hunger and craving.

Chicken karaage/sesame fried chicken is also a simple meal to prepare and takes less than 30 minutes (I marinated the chicken for only 10 minutes!). You can also add a little sesame oil to the chicken and I guess that's the reason why this dish is also referred to as sesame fried chicken in the United States. I ate my chicken karaage without any dipping sauce, but it's commonly served with a slice of lemon and/or mayonnaise.

So here you have it, my take on Japanese chicken karaage or sesame fried chicken. Do try the recipe and let me know what you think. If you love Japanese food, you might want to check out my Japanese recipes, for example: miso ramen, steamed clams with sake, tofu salad, grilled cod with miso, and more!

Do try my chicken karaage (sesame fried chicken) recipe. If you have any questions about the recipe, please drop me a comment.

Recipe: Chicken Karaage (Sesame Fried Chicken) 唐揚げ
Adapted from Chowhound

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts/chicken thighs (cut into small pieces/cubes)
3 inches fresh ginger (peeled and pounded with a mortar and pestle to extract 2 tablespoons of ginger juice)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons sake
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
Corn starch to coat the chicken
Oil for deep frying

Method:

Use paper towels to pat dry the chicken pieces and transfer to a bowl. Add in sake, ginger juice, soy sauce, sesame oil (optional) and marinate for 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces out of the marinate and coat them evenly with corn starch. Shake off excess.

Deep-fry in oil for two times. Heat up a wok/pot of cooking oil. When the cooking oil is hot enough for frying, drop the chicken pieces into the oil and quickly deep fry them until they float. Transfer them out onto a plate and wait for a couple of minutes. Put the chicken back into the oil and deep-fry until golden brown and crunchy. Dish out to a plate or bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil, serve hot with a slice of lemon and mayonnaise.

Cook's Notes:

I used young chicken breast and the meat was really juicy and tender.
Deep-frying twice ensures that the chicken pieces are crunchy and stay crunchy even after a few hours.

Labels: izakaya menu recipes, Japanese