Cook the Book: Chicken Kara-age, AKA Japanese Fried Chicken

• Ready in 45m

• Serves 1

• 566 calories

• 33.77g carbs

Cook the Book: Chicken Kara-age, AKA Japanese Fried Chicken is a gluten free and dairy free main course. This recipe serves 1 and costs $1.61 per serving. One portion of this dish contains around 21g of protein, 36g of fat, and a total of 567 calories. It is a budget friendly recipe for fans of Southern food. This recipe is liked by 88 foodies and cooks. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 45 minutes. This recipe from Serious Eats requires arugula, soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion.

11 ingredients

1. 1 handful arugula
2. 4 tbsps cornstarch
3. 1 tsp ginger
4. 1 tbsp green onion
5. 1 tbsp rice vinegar
6. 1 tbsp sake
7. 3 drops sesame oil
8. 4 oz chicken thigh
9. 1 tbsp soy sauce
10. 1 pinch sugar
11. 1 serving vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken, soy sauce, saké, and ginger.
2. Let marinate for at least 10 minutes or overnight. (If you need to leave it marinating for more than 12 hours, omit the soy sauce and add it 10 minutes before cooking, or the salt will draw out too much moisture from the chicken and make it dry.)
3. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, drain, and coat in the cornstarch.
4. Heat 1 inch (2.5cm) of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Test the oil temperature by putting a little of the cornstarch-and-marinade coating on the end of a wooden chopstick and dipping it into the oil. If the coating sizzles and turns brown immediately, the oil is hot enough. If the oil starts getting smoky, turn down the heat.
5. Fry the chicken pieces in the oil, turning once, until a deep golden brown.
6. Drain well on paper towels.
7. To make the green onion sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small frying pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
8. Put the chicken pieces in the pan and toss to coat each piece with the sauce.
9. Let cool completely before packing into a bento box. Putting a layer of arugula or other salad leaves under the chicken enhances the color of the chicken and provides another texture in the bento.
10. Note: You can cook chicken karaage the night before. If I’m making this for dinner, I usually set aside a few pieces for the next day’s bento. Chicken kara-age can be frozen uncooked and marinated, or cooked. To freeze it uncooked and marinated, put the chicken and marinade (excluding the soy sauce) into a freezer bag. Defrost in the refrigerator in a bowl, adding the soy sauce before frying. Cooked frozen pieces can be defrosted in the refrigerator, then crisped up for a few minutes in a toaster oven. I don’t recommend defrosting cooked pieces in a microwave, since this will make the chicken tough.