Savoring Karaage: The Secrets Behind Japan's Fried Chicken Delicacy

When people think of karaage, they instantly picture fried chicken. In truth, karaage is more than a single delicacy. It’s an entire cooking technique that has been in Japan since the 17th century. In this post, we’ll learn all about the different kinds of karaage, including the famous Japanese fried chicken. Let’s dive in!

Introduction to Karaage

Karaage, pronounced “kara-age,” is both a popular Japanese dish and style of cooking. As a cooking technique, it involves marinating and deep-frying various types of meat and fish, especially chicken. So if you see the word “karaage” on a restaurant menu, it’s probably referring to deep-fried chicken. Because the cooking process involves coating the chicken or other meats with flour and corn or potato starch before deep-frying, many people mistake karaage for tempura. However, both cooking styles are different, especially because tempura ingredients are never marinated.

Juicy karaage is a staple meal in Japanese households, where it often serves as a main dish. It’s a popular gourmet option in restaurants and for diners. Karaage is a common appetizer served with beer in izakayas. You can also find it as a ready-made meal sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, and bento shops. Chicken karaage has gone global, and you don’t have to look too hard to find it, no matter where you are in the world.

What is Karaage?

Karaage is a Japanese cooking style in which the main ingredient, typically chicken, is marinated, lightly coated with flour, and deep-fried in oil. The use of bite-sized chicken pieces in karaage-style dishes is so common that we often refer to such dishes as simply “karaage.”

The cooking technique originally referred to a Chinese tofu dish that was popular from 600 to 900 AD. The first mention of karaage in Japan came in the 17th century. At first, people only used it to deep-fry seafood and vegetables. However, in the 1930s, the modern version of karaage became popular throughout Japan, starting in the cities of Usa and Nakatsu, located in Ōita Prefecture.

You might be wondering what’s so special about karaage and how it differs from other types of fried chicken globally. While regular fried chicken gets most of its flavor from seasoning and toppings added after cooking, kaarage’s juicy and smooth flavor comes from its marination stage. Also, other types of fried chicken, like the American version, use a coating of flour or beer batter; karaage uses potato or corn starch.

The Art of Making Karaage

The traditional process of making karaage is simple enough for anyone to try. You don’t need to have any special tools to pull it off. Also, most of the ingredients you’ll need are readily available in your local grocery store and supermarket. The following is a detailed process for making any kind of karaage:

1. Selecting the main ingredient: You can use any kind of meat or fish to make the dish. The most common main ingredient is boneless chicken thighs with the skin still on. It’s best to use skin-on chicken meat because it produces a crispy texture on the outside while leaving the insides tender and juicy. 

2. Marination: Typical karaage marinades consist of soy sauce, ginger, and sake (Japanese rice wine). Together, they serve as tenderizers and seasonings for the meat. Your marinade may include other ingredients, such as sesame oil, oyster sauce, garlic, and mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine).

3. Coating: After marinating the meat or fish, the next step is to lightly coat it in flour, potato starch, or a combination of both. You can use the all-purpose flour, as it’s readily available in US markets. Cake flour is a good option if you want a lighter coating. Gluten-free recipes use rice flour. Can’t get your hands on potato starch? Use cornstarch instead. However, the result may not come out as crispy as it would have with potato starch.

4. Deep-Frying: The final step involves deep-frying the coated ingredients in oil. For this stage, feel free to use any oil with a high smoking point, such as safflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and rice bran oil.

Variations of Karaage

There are many different types of karaage found throughout Japan, including regional specialties and modern twists on the classic recipe. Most of them are made from chicken, but a few use fish and other kinds of meat. Let’s explore some of the most popular variations of karaage:

1. Chicken karaage: Japanese fried chicken is the most common type of karaage. It’s made with small bits of deep-fried chicken thighs. We’ll share a basic recipe for juicy marinated chicken coated in flour later in this post.

2. Octopus karaage: This version of karaage uses bit-sized pieces of octopus tentacles. It’s common at izakayas because of how well it pairs with alcoholic drinks. 

3. Zangi: This is a Hokkaido-style fried chicken. The dish is often marinated for several hours before being double-fried in oil. 

4. Fugu no karaage: This regional specialty dish is popular in Yamaguchi prefecture. It uses the flesh and other organs of a pufferfish known in Japan as fugu. An expert has to remove the poisonous parts of the fish before they can be used for cooking.

5. Gurukun no karaage: The dish is made from Okinawa’s famous double-lined fusilier, known as gurukun, or “banana fish.”

Karaage vs. Tempura: Understanding the Difference

Tempura and karaage are two popular Japanese methods of frying food. However, a basic understanding of both methods will reveal the big differences between them. For one, making tempura requires dipping the ingredients in liquid batter. Karaage, on the other hand, uses dry, powdered coatings. Also, karaage ingredients are marinated in various seasonings before coating but tempura ingredients rely on a dipping sauce for their flavors.

The most popular types of ingredients used in tempura are vegetables, shrimp, and other seafood. In contrast, karaage is commonly associated with chicken. The cooking times for both dishes are also different, with karaage taking slightly longer to deep-fry. If you’d like to learn more, read our recent article on tempura.

The Best Karaage Recipes

It’s time to explore our basic, homemade chicken karaage recipe. Ensure that you have all of the necessary ingredients, including boneless chicken thigh, marinade ingredients, flour, potato or corn starch, and cooking oil. Follow the step-by-step guide below:

1. Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.

2. Pour the marinade ingredients into a zip-lock bag and add the chicken pieces. Be sure to coat each piece with the seasoning.

3. Allow the marinade to sit for 30–60 minutes.

4. Take out the chicken pieces and pat them dry.

5. Coat each piece with flour and potato starch.

6. Pour oil into a pan and heat to 160 °C.

7. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and deep-fry for 1-2 minutes.

8. Allow the pieces to rest for 3–4 minutes before deep-frying again for 1-2 minutes at a temperature of 180-200 °C. Your juicy chicken karaage is ready to eat.

And now for karaage cooking techniques and tips.

To ensure crispy, juicy results every time, be sure to fry chicken pieces at a lower temperature (160 ºC) the first time and at a higher temperature (180-200 ºC) the second time. You should also avoid coating it with excess potato starch and flour, as it ruins the texture. When selecting the oil, choose one that can withstand high heat without smoking. You want to achieve a golden brown color for your chicken at the end of cooking. If the meat turns brown too quickly, reduce the oil temperature immediately.

Pairing and Serving Suggestions

There are several ways to serve karaage, but our favorite way is with lemon wedges, kewpie mayo dip, and a mix of vegetables. You can also serve it on top of cooked rice with cabbage. Feel free to add any type of Asian spice. Other dishes that pair well with karaage are mushrooms, miso soup, pickled onions, fresh lemon juice, and cucumber slices.

Karaage also pairs well with a wide variety of drinks, including lagers, Japanese beer, and whiskey. Feel free to eat it with snacks like tamagoyaki, edamame, and tofu.

Where to Find the Best Karaage in Tokyo

Next time you travel to Tokyo, you can enjoy restaurant-grade fried chicken in one of the many establishments available in the city. The following is a list of the top restaurants and eateries in Tokyo known for their exceptional karaage.

1. Karaage Kei: Located in Shinagawa City, Tokyo, this is a small snack bar that specializes in selling Japanese-style fried chicken thigh meat and chicken breast. 

2. Karaage-ya Oshu Iwai: This is one of the best places to get fried chicken takeout in Tokyo. You’ll find this food-stall-like restaurant in Taito City.

3. Sowado: One of the most comfortable izakayas in Japan, Shibuya’s Sowado is famous for their ham katsu (cutlets). It’s also a great place to enjoy karaage and natural wine.

4. Asakusa Chicken: This takeout restaurant in Taito City is the ideal spot to order different kinds of meat dishes, especially karaage. They cook their food and serve it fresh while you wait.

Karaage in Japanese Festivals and Street Food Culture

Japan is a nation known for its many festivals or matsuri. If you attend any of these events,  you’ll find at least one stall selling karaage. This is just a small part of Japan’s massive street food culture. Fried chicken is sold on the streets during festivals like the Sapporo Snow Festival, Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri, and the Nagasaki Lantern Festival. It tends to taste different from restaurant or home-cooked karaage because of the use of seasonal ingredients.

Besides festivals, karaage is also a big part of other annual events, most especially the Karaage Grand Prix. This is an annual contest in which over 1,000 shops compete to become the spot with the best fried chicken in Japan. Before 2022, it was more of a popularity contest, with locals voting for the spots they liked the most. However, in 2023, judges were introduced and were tasked with tasting the different foods. 

Karaage on the Global Menu

Karaage is gaining popularity outside of Japan and you’ll find it in many international restaurants. Chefs around the world are incorporating karaage into their menus, adapting it to local tastes and ingredients to create innovative new dishes. A popular fusion dish at these restaurants consists of Chinese-style sauce made from oyster sauce, rice vinegar, tomato ketchup, sesame seed oil, and sugar. Another popular fusion dish is Korean fries with chicken karaage.

Conclusion:

There are so many ways to prepare and serve karaage, making it one of the most versatile fried foods in the world. Its enduring popularity has crossed borders, and you can probably find it at any Asian restaurant in your city. Whenever you get the chance, explore this delicious aspect of Japanese culinary tradition, either at home or on your travels.

Share your love for Japanese culture by shopping for the perfect gifts at Bokksu Boutique. We offer countless affordable and high-quality lifestyle items and snack foods.