Japan Solved Soggy Fried Chicken With One Simple Trick

Late night in izakaya with ice-cold beer, perfectly packed in a bento for lunch, or fresh from a festival stove fryer, there are few foods that brings me as much happiness as Japanese fried chicken. Hi, I'm Rie, a cookbook author of Make It Japanese, and this is my secret to making crispy, juicy karaage at home. Tempura and karaage are both Japanese fried foods, but with very different techniques. Tempura is about lightness, fresh ingredients, a thin, icy batter, and a quick fry for a pale, delicate crunch. Karaage is about flavor. The meat is marinated, coated in dry flour and potato starch, and fried for a thicker, crunchier crust. The result is juicy, savory chicken with bold umami in every bite. The earliest karaage was fried tofu, and it's said to have come to Japan from China. The word karaage literally means foreign-style frying. By the early 1900s, the term became mostly associated with fried chicken, but karaage isn't the same everywhere in Japan. Up north in Hokkaido, it's called Zangi. Down in Kyushu, Nakatsu City, it's known as the capital of fried chicken. Home to nearly 50 karaage shops, each boasting a secret ingredient that makes theirs the best. In Nagano, they use whole chicken thigh, fried and sliced, before serving. For this video, we are making tatsutaage, my favorite style of karaage. Unlike standard karaage, which often uses a mix of flour and starch, tatsutaage uses only potato starch for an extra crispy, glassier crunch. The color of the reddish-brown chicken is said to resemble autumn leaves floating on the water of the Tatsuta River. But before we go any further, let's talk about the Japanese cooking tools I use to make fried chicken at home much easier. First, a heavy cast iron frying pot helps keep the oil temperature steady. Wider thermometer ensures it's just right for a crispy, golden crust. There are also specialized Japanese pots like this tempura pot that come with a thermometer and wire rack built in. In Japan, we use a shoga oroshiki for grating fresh ginger and garlic, the key for a flavorful karaage marinade. I also recommend long cooking chopsticks to make turning each piece in hot oil safe and easy. A spider skimmer for lifting our fried chicken without breaking the crust, and wire trays so it stays crispy all the way to the table. For tatsuta-age, we usually use boneless chicken thighs because they stay juicy during frying and have more flavor than breast meat. Cut the chicken into medium-sized uniform pieces so each piece cook evenly. You don't need to cut off all the fat, just extra large and attractive pieces. Some cooks lightly score or poke the meat with a fork to help the marinade penetrate, but it's optional. The marinade is where the flavor really comes to life. For tatsuta-age, I use soy sauce, sake, mirin, garlic, grated ginger, and sesame oil. The sake helps tenderize the chicken and helps reduce the gamey, raw meat smell. Let the chicken soak overnight or at least two hours before cooking. A lot of recipes say 30 minutes is enough, but after frying, the flavor wasn't there. Some cooks swear by adding mayonnaise to the marinade to keep kara-age extra juicy. We tested mayonnaise, whole eggs, and egg whites and found that egg whites helped the potato starch sticks better, creating a light, crisp crust, while the yolks and mayo weighted things down and ended up soggy. Tatsuta-age uses potato starch or katakuriko for that signature golden, extra crispy, delicate crust. If you can't find potato starch, cornstarch works as a substitute, but it browns quickly and isn't suited for the double-fry method that we'll talk about later. Add the egg whites and the katakuriko to the chicken marinade to create a slurry, and then at the last minute before frying, coat again with an extra layer of starch. The secret to tatsuta-age's golden crunch and juicy interior, a technique called double-frying. First, the chicken goes into oil at the lower temperature, just long enough to cook it through without browning the surface. Remove the chicken and let it rest three to four minutes, during which the residual heat continues cooking the chicken. Then, fry a second time at the higher temperature. This first fry cooks the chicken and removes excess moisture, allowing the second high temperature fry to get an unbeatable, crispy crunch. Flour browns and burns quickly at high heat, while potato starch stays stable, making it ideal for this double-frying technique. The oil temperature is critical. Too hot on the first fry, and the outside burns while the inside stays raw. Too low on the second fry, and the chicken comes out greasy instead of crisp. If you have a thermometer, use it. If not, dip a pair of wooden chopsticks into the oil. Tiny, quiet bubbles mean it's about 160 to 165 Celsius, while larger, fast-rising bubbles signal 180 to 190 Celsius. Perfect for the second fry. In Japan, karaage is often served with a lemon wedge. For side dishes, I personally love a bowl of corn rice and a vegetable side, like soy-simmered kabocha. You can find the recipes for both in my cookbook, Make It Japanese. Karaage is a dish best shared with friends. I know it's hard, but if you want to impress your Japanese friends, don't take that last piece of fried chicken. It's polite to leave the last piece for someone else to enjoy. Thanks for watching, and let me know what Japanese dishes you want to see me cook next.