← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 650 g boneless chicken thighs, skin on, cut into 4 cm pieces
• 1½ tbsp Soy sauce
• 1½ tbsp Sake
• 2 tsp Ginger, finely grated, with its juice
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely grated
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Black pepper
• 4 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko) or cornflour
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 l neutral oil, for deep-frying
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges
• Japanese (Kewpie) mayonnaise, to serve (optional)
• shichimi togarashi, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Mix the chicken with the soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 min (up to a few hours).
2. Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok to 170°C (340°F). Mix the potato starch and flour on a plate.
3. Drain off any loose marinade and roll each piece in the starch mixture, squeezing it into a compact shape so the skin wraps around the meat. Shake off the excess.
4. Fry in batches, without crowding, for 3–4 min, until pale golden. Lift onto a rack and rest for 4 min: the heat keeps cooking the inside.
5. Raise the oil to 190°C (375°F) and fry each batch again for 1–2 min, until deep golden and very crisp. The thickest piece should reach 75°C (165°F) inside.
6. Drain on the rack and serve hot with lemon wedges, mayonnaise and a sprinkle of shichimi.

Tips

• Use thighs, not breast: they stay juicy through the double fry.
• Contains wheat and soy. For gluten-free, use tamari and swap the flour for more potato starch.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles Japanese Cooking 101