Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage)

Japanese Fried Chicken

Anyone who knows me will know that I LOVE fried chicken! Nothing makes me happier than to see fried chicken on a restaurant menu, but as we haven’t been to a restaurant in the longest time, homemade fried chicken is a real treat at the moment.

The easiest fried chicken I know of making is this wonderfully delightful Japanese-style fried chicken called Karaage.

What is Chicken Karaage?

Chicken Karaage are little bite-sized pieces of fried chicken.

In Japan and in Japanese restaurants, you will often find Karaage served as an appetiser, as part of a Bento box lunch, or as part of a larger meal served with rice.

In my home, Karaage also forms the basis for many more delicious meals, including my Crispy Honey Chicken and Chinese Lemon Chicken.

Why This Recipe Works

• Use a few easy-to-find pantry ingredients to make delicious homemade fried chicken.
• This recipe for Japanese Fried Chicken creates small and tender pieces of chicken with a crispy and crunchy coating.

Karaage Recipe

My recipe for Chicken Karaage uses all the usual Japanese seasonings to marinate and flavour the chicken. Despite it being a “Japanese recipe”, Karaage works well as part of any Asian dinner spread.

When it comes to making fried chicken, rather than coating the chicken pieces in a heavy batter for deep-frying, I light to make a light, floury batter which sticks to the chicken pieces to create a crispy texture.

The results are tender and juicy chicken pieces, with an addictive and more-ish crunchy coating.

How to Japanese Fried Chicken

Step 1

For this recipe, you can use chicken breast or chicken thigh, or a mix of both. I like to use boneless chicken thigh fillets with the skin. The skin will crisp up during frying, adding extra crunch and texture, which is what you want in a fried chicken.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 2 cm/1 inch cubes) and place them into a medium-sized bowl.

Add the marinade ingredients, and give everything a good mix.

Set the chicken aside to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Place the flour into a large bowl or baking tray. For this recipe, you can use either plain flour (all-purpose flour) or self-raising flour.

Step 3

Pour the chicken, together with all of the marinade, onto the flour.

Step 4

Use your hands to mix everything together. The liquid from the marinade will mix with the flour to create a light, floury batter.

Press the flour mixture into the chicken to create a craggy coating. It is these craggly bits which will make the chicken crispy and crunchy.

Step 5

Heat enough vegetable oil in a large saucepan to about 2 cm (1 inch) depth. The oil is ready when the temperature is 165°C (325°F), or when a wooden chopstick inserted in the oil creates lots of small bubbles.

Cook the chicken in batches until they are golden in colour.

Drain the chicken on kitchen paper or a wire rack.

What to Serve with Japanese Fried Chicken

For this Japanese-style Fried Chicken, I recommend any spicy sauce to go alongside, such as Sriracha, or Sriracha mixed with a bit of Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise.

This Japanese Fried Chicken recipe also forms the basis of my Crispy Honey Chicken and Chinese Lemon Chicken, to which I sometimes add a teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder to the marinade.

Recipe Update

This recipe was first published on 18 January 2021. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.