Crispy and crunchy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside, this delicious Gluten Free Karaage is for everyone who loves Japanese fried chicken.
Karaage (唐揚げ) is a Japanese version of fried chicken, famous for its juicy meat and crispy shell. It’s one of the popular appetizers at Japanese restaurants and izakaya (tapas) style restaurants, but in Japan it’s also enjoyed as a main meal at home or teishoku (Japanese set-meal) style restaurants.
Some dishes are harder to convert into gluten free option, but not for today’s recipe. This Gluten Free Karaage (グルテンフリー唐揚げ) is so easy to make that I honestly feel this karaage is much better in texture than my regular karaage that uses soy sauce and flour.
So if you were going to make karaage for everyone, including someone who are gluten intolerant, don’t make two versions, just make this recipe!
Watch How to Make Gluten Free Karaage
Watch my “Gluten Free Karaage” video on YouTube
What Makes It Gluten Free?
Usually Karaage is marinated with soy sauce (not GF), and then dusted with flour (not GF) or potato starch (GF), or the combination of the two. Everyone has different methods and recipes to make a rather simple fried chicken recipe.
For the gluten free version, I use Gluten Free Soy Sauce, and then I coated with the combination of rice flour (GF) and potato starch (GF).
Potato starch gives crips texture while rice flour creates such exceptional crunchy outer layer for the chicken. You are not missing anything from the regular version of karaage. In fact, I really think it yields a much more superior texture.
3 Tips for the Best Gluten Free Karaage
1.Use Skin-On Chicken Thigh
If you are looking for the authentic and ultimate experience to enjoy chicken karaage, you have to get skin-on chicken thigh. It is a necessity, not an option. Again, not skinless, not chicken breasts.
Although it’s higher in calorie, chicken skin contains a good amount of heart-healthy unsaturated fat. Cooking the chicken with the skin on helps keep the meat moist and flavorful.
American butcher sells skin-on chicken thighs with bones, so you have to ask the butcher to remove the bones for you, or you can do so easily at home.
2. Rice flour to Potato Starch ratio
For regular karaage, the chicken is marinated, and then coated with wheat flour, potato starch, or the combination of both. However, for gluten free version, we are using rice flour instead of wheat flour, just like Gluten Free Tempura recipe. I personally like the combination of rice flour and potato starch (ideally potato starch, not corn starch), and after I’ve played with the ratio, I like somewhere between 4 to 1 (4 parts potato starch, 1 part rice flour). You can try with different ratio and see which ratio gives you the crispiest crust for chicken karaage.
3. Double Fry
Double frying is a must, and here’s the reason why. After the chicken pieces have gone through the first fry and cooled, moisture inside the meat moves to the surface, and that’s when the crispy shells get soggy. Therefore, you deep fry for the second time to make them extra crunchy again.
Also, while resting for the second fry, inside the chicken will continue to cook with remaining heat. The chicken will get drier if you continue cooking with high heat, so double frying do the job for both inside and outside the chicken.
Pro Tips – How to Enjoy Gluten Free Karaage
Now that you have learned how to perfect gluten free karaage, you want to know how to enjoy it, in authentic Japanese style!
Here are some variations on how you can enjoy every piece of the chicken karaage.
1. Classic style – lemon juice
Karaage is always served with lemon wedges so you can squeeze some lemon juice over the karaage. Lemon juice helps with the digestion and gives a sour note that diminishes the fat sensation of fried food.
2. Everyone’s favorite – Japanese mayonnaise
Next to lemon wedges, there is always a generous squirt of Japanese mayo (homemade recipe here). The Japanese loves (Japanese) mayonnaise. Deep fried foods like karaage, calamari and chicken katsu always go well with Japanese mayo.
3. Make it light (so we can eat more!) – ponzu sauce
The Japanese likes deep fried foods but to make it lighter, ponzu sauce (homemade recipe here) is often used as a dipping sauce for deep fried foods. Often, grated daikon and green onions are added to the ponzu sauce.
A winning crowd pleaser, you want to serve these ultra crunchy gluten free karaage at your next party. And don’t forget to bring out the beer (or sake)!
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Gluten Free Karaage
Video
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp rice flour
- 2½ cups neutral oil
For the Marinade
- 1 knob ginger (1 inch, 2.5 cm)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
For Serving
- lemon wedges
- parsley (optional)
- lettuce (optional; I used butter lettuce)
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional; for a spicy kick)
- Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (optional; for dipping)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Marinate the Chicken
- Peel and grate 1 knob ginger and crush (or mince) 1 clove garlic. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the marinade: the grated ginger, the crushed garlic, 2 Tbsp sake, and 2 Tbsp gluten-free soy sauce.
- Cut the 1.1 lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs into 5 to 6 pieces per thigh, about 1½ inches (3.8 cm) each.
- Lightly season the chicken with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add the chicken to the marinade. Coat and rub the chicken with the marinade using your hands or tongs. Set aside for 30 to 60 minutes.
To Dredge the Chicken
- In a medium bowl, combine 4 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch and 1 Tbsp rice flour and whisk well.
- In a pot, heat 2½ cups neutral oil to 340ºF (170ºC). I use a smaller 1½ QT pot, so that the oil is deep enough and I don‘t have to use much oil. Use a thermometer or wooden chopsticks to see if the oil is ready (for more details, see my post on How to Deep-Fry Foods).
- When the oil is hot, drain the chicken well from the marinade and coat each piece with the potato starch mixture.
To Deep-Fry for the First Round
- Deep-fry for 90 seconds, or until the chicken is light golden color. Work with a few pieces at a time, so the oil temperature won’t drop quickly. I worked with 3 to 4 pieces at a time.
- Transfer the chicken to a wire rack to drain the excess oil. Let the chicken cook with the remaining heat while you work on the rest of the chicken.
- Once the chicken is all deep-fried for the first round, use a fine-mesh sieve to pick up crumbs to keep the oil clean. If you don‘t do this step, the crumbs will get darker, which will make the oil darker.
To Deep-Fry for the Second Round
- Increase the heat and bring the oil to 350ºF (180ºC). Deep-fry the chicken for the second time for 45 seconds or until crispy and golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack to drain excess oil.
To Serve
- Serve the chicken immediately with lemon wedges, parsley, lettuce, shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice), and Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise. If you‘d like, squeeze with lemon before you eat and sprinkle shichimi togarashi for spice.
Nutrition
Full Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kikkoman USA. Thoughts and opinions stated are my own.
Thank you so much for these gluten free alternative recipes! I’ve been trying to make my Japanese grandmother’s recipes, as part of my efforts to get in touch with my heritage. But, I recently discovered that I have to follow a gluten free diet and I was crushed to learn that many of the beloved recipes of my childhood contained gluten. Websites like yours have been a lifesaver for me!
Hi Shauna! A lot of traditional Japanese meals are gluten-free, and I hope you find some delicious food. Now you can easily get GF soy sauce too. 🙂
Would you be able to use this recipe with fish?
Hi Janice! Hmmm I think you can make it, but flakey so you should use a firm fish fillet. 🙂
Halo Nami… thankyou for share this receipt. but i can’t use sake. Sake in my country is not Halal. Can I make this without any kind of sake or alcohol??
Hi Liya! You can omit sake from this recipe. It’s there to remove the smell of the chicken (and adding umami flavor) and there is nothing that does the same. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Nami: can I marinate longer? For example over Nite?
Hi Miyuki! Sure you can do that. Typically, marinate time is about 30 minutes in Japan so that the ingredients don’t get salty or overpower the ingredient taste. But it’s really up to you. 🙂
hi nami, the rice flour you use is the same Bobs Red Mill? I ask this because I saw that it only has “white rice” as an ingredient but the rice flour that I have includes water like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Rice-Flour-16-Basic/dp/B000EYC096/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=rice+flour&qid=1564233733&s=grocery&sr=1-3
Will there be a problem if I use that flour?
Hi Ruth! Yes, I do use rice flour from Bob’s Red Mill. I think you can use the rice flour you listed (although I have never used it before). Let me know how it goes. 🙂
[…] 1. Gluten Free Karaage グルテンフリー唐揚げ […]
I tried this yesterday and it was delicious. Thank you Nami! 🙂
Hi Brett! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
[…] Gluten Free Karaage […]
Oh my gosh I am so excited to try this! This used to be one of my favourite dishes but am doing an anti-inflammatory diet for 3 months. I will have to do it in olive oil to fry but still pretty excited to try.
Wonder if you have had any experience trying to bake something similar? I know it would not create the same texture but just a thought.
Hi Tanya! I’m trying to make it work – so far it’s been so so results and I don’t feel it’s ready to share… It’s easier with panko/gluten-free panko but flour is not so easy… Hope you enjoy this recipe meanwhile!
Never home made fried chicken this crunchy! And it is not too oily because there is no heavy thick batter.
Hi Ming! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and writing your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Hora, I was wrong. I usually use corn starch before, so that’s why my karaage easy to get soggy. Moreover I just fried it once and that make it worst. I need to change my cook metode, and making a better karaage for my daughter’s bento. Woa, this blog could make me a tensai ????
Hi Damara! My other recipes use potato starch, corn starch, and flour too. This is gluten-free recipe so I had to use rice flour. Then I found out it’s really crispy and delicious. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
We made it last night and it was a huge success! It made a big mess in the oil (much more than in your pictures), but frying is always messy. The look and taste was just like in our favorite restaurant. Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe!
Hi Saskia! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. After deep frying a few times, you kind of organize the cooking area and keep it less messy (I won’t say no mess… haha). I like deep frying foods, and trying to use this as a reason to clean up my stove. xD Thank you for trying my recipe!
Just finished making this for dinner. Was a massive hit and have received so many compliments from my dinner guests! Thanks so much for the amazing recipe 🙂
Hi Rebecca! I’m so happy everyone enjoyed this dish. Wonderful! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was so delicious! This recipe is a keeper. I love your blog. It makes Japanese home cooking very accessible. Thank you!!
Hi Helen! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy you enjoy my blog. Thank you for trying my recipes! xo
Nami, I made this recipe tonight & it was so incredibly delicious! The Japanese foreign exchange student my husband & I are hosting said that it was so much better than the ones she is used to eating in Japan! So crunchy outside and juicy inside. I marinated chicken for 4 or 5 hours and the flavor really came through after frying. Thanks again and I just wanted to give you the great compliment from our student. ????
Hi Britt! I’m super happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. How nice that you and your husband are hosting a Japanese exchange student! She’s so lucky you made a Japanese dish so she won’t feel homesick much. 🙂