Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) is easily one of the greatest types of fried chicken in the world. It’s exceptionally flavorful, juicy, ultra-crispy, and absolutely worth hanging out at the stove for! Learn the simple techniques and fry up some glorious chicken at home today.
Karaage (唐揚げ), or Japanese fried chicken, is a classic dish you can find at any Japanese home, bento lunch box, street-side stalls, restaurants, or diners. Come in bite-size nuggets, anyone who has tried the fried chicken can tell you how deliciously addicting it can be.
I grew up eating a countless number of karaage, and mom’s version was always the best. Just like any Japanese home cook in her generation, mom never shied away from deep frying, especially when it comes to a dish worthy to make for the family. The chicken always turned out with cracker-crisp skin and the meat absolutely something you want to indulge with great abandon. Thanks to mom, I’m able to share the fried chicken love with you. And I promise: it’s going to be really good!
What is Karaage?
Pronounced as ‘ka-RA-AH-geh’, the word karaage refers to a Japanese cooking technique in which an ingredient is lightly coated with flour and deep-fried in oil. When you hear “karaage”, most of us assume it’s chicken karaage, but it can also be fish or vegetables.
For chicken karaage, it’s essentially bite-size pieces of chicken thigh dusted with flour and deep-fried in hot oil. With tender and juicy marinated chicken coated in a crispy shell, karaage is a staple in Japanese home-cooked meals.
You may find this delicious Japanese fried chicken being served at:
- home – it can be a main dish or appetizer.
- diner and restaurant – karaage teishoku is a popular set meal.
- Izakaya and bar – served as an appetizer to go with a drink.
- supermarket, convenience store, and depachika (B1F – the gourmet food galore in the basement of a department store).
- bento shop – karaage bento is a popular choice
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between karaage and katsu?
Katsu refers to deep-fried cutlet and commonly uses chicken breast that’s been breaded with panko before frying, while karaage uses bite-size chicken thighs that are coated potato or corn starch. We serve katsu with a sweet-savory brown sauce called tonkatsu sauce. For karaage, we usually serve it with Japanese mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon juice.
How about tatsutaage?
Tatsutaage (竜田揚げ) is another dish that is similar to karaage. The chicken is marinated in soy sauce and mirin, coated with potato starch (katakuriko), and then deep-fried till golden brown.
Wait, isn’t it almost identical to Karaage?
As mentioned earlier, karaage originally implies that the food was simply coated with flour and then deep-fried. There was no marinating involved. However, in recent years, the Japanese use these terms interchangeably. Karaage has more variations when it comes to seasonings and a lot more flexibility in how it’s being prepared, while tatsutaage has a signature method to go by.
4 Key Ingredients for Karaage
1. Chicken
In Japan, karaage is typically made with skin-on boneless chicken thighs, which has more flavor than chicken breasts. However, if you really want to use breasts, that’s okay.
Here in the US, skin-on chicken thighs are always sold with bones. To save time, I usually ask my friendly butcher to remove the bones for me. Why do we need to use skin-on? The skin keeps the karaage crispy on the outside and the meat juicy inside.
2. Marinade/Seasonings
There are so many variations of marinade/seasonings available for Karaage, and this is really up to you. I make mine slightly different all the time. However, the primary base should always include soy sauce, sake, and ginger.
Sake helps tenderize the meat while ginger gives zing and removes the gamey taste.
Some variations for the seasonings include:
- garlic
- sesame oil
- mirin
- oyster sauce
- curry powder
- egg yolk
- Japanese mayonnaise (I haven’t tried it…)
Feel free to experiment with the ingredients and see what you like!
3. Coating
This is another flexibility you can work with by testing out different ratios:
- Flour – you can decide cake flour (lighter shell) or all-purpose flour (easily available in the US)
- Potato starch
- Flour + potato starch
- Rice flour + potato starch (see this recipe) – this is gluten-free!
In this recipe, I use equal parts of all-purpose flour and potato starch. I first dredge the chicken in flour and then potato starch. The flour will trap the marinade and seasonings inside the shell, and potato starch will create a crisp texture on the outside. You can premix the flour and starch, but I actually like dredging in 2 stages for the best result!
Potato starch vs. Corn starch
In Japan, potato starch (or katakuriko 片栗粉) is most commonly used as a coating for frying foods. Here in the US, corn starch is much easier to access in regular grocery stores, so that is a close substitute if you have trouble finding potato starch.
As a comparison, I found that karaage made with potato starch yields a crispier skin and texture. If you compare these two starches by rubbing them between your fingertips, you will notice the difference.
Potato starch is available on Amazon and larger grocery stores. I think it’s worth looking for it to make delicious Karaage.
Are potato starch and potato flour the same?
No, they are not the same. Potato starch is made from the dried starch component of peeled potatoes while potato flour is made from whole (raw or cooked) potatoes being dried then ground into flour.
4. Deep-Frying Oil
My recommendation for deep frying oil includes:
- Canola oil (キャノーラ油)
- Safflower oil (べに花油)
- Rice bran oil (米油)
4 Helpful Tips to Remember
- Cut the chicken into same size pieces – It’s very important that each chicken is similar in sizes so you can cook evenly.
- Don’t marinate too long! – 30 minutes is ideal for the chicken to soak in the flavors.
- Lightly coat the chicken. – Remove the excess flour. It will make the oil cloudy and doesn’t give a good texture to the chicken.
- Double fry! – Fry at a lower temperature first, let it cook with remaining heat, and lastly make it crisp at the higher temperature.
Because they are bite-size, Karaage is utterly doable at home. It may require some extra oil, but you know you would be dishing out some glorious fried chicken at home!
More Chicken Recipes on Just One Cookbook
- Karaage Don (Karaage Rice Bowl)
- Nagoya Style Fried Chicken Wings
- Chicken Karaage with Sweet Chili Sauce
- Gluten-Free Karaage
- Teba Shio (Salted Chicken Wings)
- Baked Chicken Katsu
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Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Video
Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs (4–6 pieces; read the blog post)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For the Marinade
- ½ tsp ginger (grated, with juice)
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ Tbsp sake (or substitute with dry sherry, Chinese rice wine, or omit)
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
For Deep-Frying
- neutral oil (about 4 cups, 960 ml)
- 2 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch (plus more, if needed)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) (plus more, if needed)
For Serving (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Marinade the Chicken
- To prepare 1½ lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, cut each chicken thigh into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. Season with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Now, grate the ginger (I use a ceramic grater). Take ½ tsp ginger (grated, with juice) and add them to a large bowl. Next, mince or press 1 clove garlic (I use a garlic press) and add it to the bowl.
- Add ½ Tbsp soy sauce, ½ Tbsp sake, and ½ tsp toasted sesame oil to the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Whisk it all together.
- Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade and mix it with your hands. Cover and keep in the refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes.
To Prepare the Deep Frying Oil
- While the chicken is marinating, prepare the oil for deep-frying. Pour about 4 cups (960 ml) neutral oil into a heavy-bottomed pot (I used a Dutch oven) and heat it to 325ºF (160ºC) on medium heat.
To Dredge the Chicken
- While the oil is heating up, dredge the chicken. Prepare 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 2 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch in separate piles.
- Lightly dredge a marinated chicken piece in the flour and dust off the excess flour. Then, dredge in the potato starch and remove the excess starch.
- Continue with the remaining chicken pieces.
To Deep-Fry
- Check that the oil temperature has reached 325ºF (160ºC). Tip: If you don‘t have an instant read thermometer, insert a wooden chopstick into the oil; you‘ll know it‘s hot enough if small bubbles start to appear around the tip. For more details, see my post How to Deep-Fry Food.When the oil is hot enough, gently submerge 3 to 5 chicken pieces in the oil at a time; do not overcrowd the pot. Tip: If you put too many pieces in at once, the oil temperature will drop quickly, and the chicken will end up absorbing too much oil.
- First Deep-Frying: Deep-fry for 90 seconds, or until the outside of the chicken is a light golden color. If the chicken browns too quickly, then the oil temperature is too high. Either put a few more pieces of chicken in the oil or lower the heat. Controlling the oil temperature at all times is very important for deep-frying. Transfer the chicken pieces to a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
- The residual heat will continue to cook the chicken as it rests on the wire rack. Continue deep-frying the remaining chicken pieces. Between batches, pick up and discard the crumbs in the oil with a fine-mesh sieve. This keeps the oil clean and prevents it from becoming darker.
- Second Deep-Frying: Now, heat the oil to 350ºF (180ºC). Place 3 to 5 pieces of the resting chicken back into the oil and deep-fry for 45 seconds, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Transfer them to a wire rack to drain the excess oil. Continue with the remaining chicken pieces.
- The left photo shows the chicken pieces after the first frying and the right photo shows them after the second frying. You can see the chicken pieces on the right are slightly darker in color.
To Serve
- Serve the chicken hot. We often serve Karaage with lemon wedges and dip it in Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (you can make it homemade). Sprinkle shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on top for a bit of spice, if desired.
To Store
- Let cool completely, and keep in an airtight container. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 10, 2012. The new video is added and the images have been updated in October 2019.
Hi Nami! I looove this recipe. I’ve made it many times, and all were very successful.
Now I have an air fryer, I want to give it a try making using air fryer. Have you ever used air fryer to make karaage? If so, do you have any suggestions how to go about making it?
Hi Evelyn,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We currently don’t have the recipe used an air fryer, and we can not give you much advice.
If you try it one day, please let us know how it goes!😉
Haloo, Nami! Thank you for your recipes! They always turn out so well when I try it 🙂 I was looking for your other chicken karaage recipe (the one with the egg) , but the link leads to this recipe too. Would you happen to still have somewhere here? I like the texture of it better. Thank you!
Hi Lorn,
Thank you for trying many of Nami’s recipes and for your kind feedback.
I think you are looking for “Chicken Tempura (Toriten) とり天” recipe. ?? 😉
https://www.justonecookbook.com/chicken-tempura/
Dear Nami-san,
Thank you so much for your blog! Has anyone told you that your recipe is perfect for airfryer too? I marinated my chicken as per your recipe and it turned out perfectly! Juicy, crispy and tasty! My family love it!
Hi Samantha,
Yay! Thank you very much for writing to us! You are the second person to notify us about the air fryer result! So now we know for sure, this recipe really works for air fryer as well. 🙌
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
Hi Nami
Always loved (and still do love) your recipes. With this one, how would you recommend reheating the karaage after it’s been in the fridge overnight? Thinking of bringing it to work and there’s only a microwave there. Would this be a viable option or would quickly deep-frying it the next day be better?
Thanks!
Hi Lucas! Thank you for your kind words. Even though you deep fry the next day, by the time you eat at the office, it will be less crunchy. That’s how it is with deep fried foods. So if I were you, I would use the oven to reheat in the morning and bring it to work (but don’t close the lid of your lunch box right away…. you have to let cool completely to avoid forming condensation). Or microwave your refrigerated karaage but you can’t microwave till hot. It’ll be soggy and won’t taste good. Almost like bring it to “warm”… a bit tricky. For most Japanese, we eat room temp karaage from the bento. We enjoy it as it is (not like out of the fryer but still bento’s karaage). 🙂
Another awesome fried chicken recipe! 😉 I actually left the marinated chicken in the fridge more than 30mins and it still tasted great. Not sure why you put a disclaimer to not do so? I had to wing it on the level of hotness of the oil since I did not have a fry thermometer. Think if I did and followed your recipe even more it would be better. Still it’s one of the best homemade fried chicken we have had. 😉 Thanks Nami!
Hi Sheena! Thank you for trying this recipe! In Japan, we really care about the ingredient’s natural taste, so we typically do not marinate for more than 30 minutes (maybe 60 mins at most?). Although you sometimes encounter to marinate more than that, I’d say it’s rare. We are more worried about the chicken gets salty and overpower the flavors. So I’d say expectation is different – while here more sauce and more flavors are better (and people talk less about the chicken’s quality or its flavor). I added a tip on inserting a chopstick in the recipe step. If you see tiny bubbles appear around the chopstick, it’s ready to deep fry.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-deep-fry-food/
Hi Nami,
I just saw season 2, episode 3 of the 2014 Midnight Diner series, and noticed that they hand mixed the flour/starch directly into the bowl of marinated chicken rather than dredging. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to doing it like that? (Other than one less pan to clean!)
Here’s a link to the series because it’s listed separately from the Netflix-filmed episodes, and Netflix search isn’t great: https://www.netflix.com/title/80113541
Hi Will! Yes, we do make like that too and I sometimes do that. I do recommend throwing away the marinade before adding the starch/flour, so that you won’t be requiring more starch/flour than necessary. And make sure it’s coated well, and not too wet because you don’t want the oil to splatter.
I’ve been craving Japanese food, which I can’t get because of quarantine in my country. Takeout just isn’t the same. So for dinner, I made this karaage, eggplant agebitashi, and tamagoyaki, all using your recipes (oh and your awase dashi recipe too!). They were all so delicious! I even had oyakodon for lunch. I’m ecstatic because I missed the taste of Japanese food a lot. Thank you so much!!
Hi Andrea! Wow, you’re making all these dishes and soon you won’t need to go to the Japanese restaurant anymore! 😀 Great job! I’m so glad you liked the recipes. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Really excited to try this tonight. Huge fan of your recipes and this’ll be the 5th one I’ve tried. Can you tell me where you found the small wire rack for your plate? It’s so cute! Also, I see you have a cookbook on Amazon. Looking forward to picking it up. 🙂
Hi Tanisha! That small wire rack is from a kitchen equipment store in Kappabashi, Tokyo. Unfortunately, I haven’t found it here. 🙁
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tokyo-kappabashi-kitchenware-town/
Love your recipe! My kids and hubby loved the Karaage chicken. We are a big fan of Japanese cooking! Thank you for sharing your recipes to us. Can’t wait to try other recipes!
Hi Ribka! Thanks so much! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed this dish. Hope your family will enjoy more Japanese food in the future! 🙂
I enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Linda!
Great recipe! Thank you 🙂
Hi Dylan! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Looks great, I will be trying this soon!
I just want to add a word about deep-frying at home. I know a lot of people shy away from it because it gets expensive using all that oil and they don’t know what to do with it afterward. Obviously it can be reused a couple of times, with diminishing results because the oil starts getting “dirty”.
Several years a read a piece on Serious Eats about cleaning up that oil, and it’s surprisingly simple:
For each quart of oil, sprinkle 1 tsp of gelatine powder (like Knox brand) in a half a cup of water. Gently heat to dissolve. Whisk into cooled oil. Chill overnight in the fridge.
When you pour off the (now very clean) oil, there will be a firm, jello-like layer at the bottom containing all of the impurities from the oil. It’s gross, discard it!
Using this method, I have been able to reuse the same oil over a dozen times.
Hi Dave! Thank you so much for sharing this information with us! I’ve read that article before. In case anyone wants to read it’s here:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/clean-cooking-oil-with-gelatin-technique.html
Wow I love your cooking blog! I am trying my hand at your Karaage recipe but I am a little confused. Why is there two deep frying? Do you mean we have to deep fry the chicken twice? So after the first frying, we put the pieces back for second frying at a higher temperature?
Thank u!
Hi Sammi! That’s correct, first deep fry to cook inside. The remaining heat will cook inside slowly while waiting for the second batch. Then with higher heat, deep fry to crunchy texture outside. Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
I’ve used your recipes for several years now here in Kyoto, so I just wanted to say thanks so much for this recipe and all your other recipes. I have tried many recipes from books here in Japan, but I always come back to your recipes and our family loves the results. Also, I have used this karaage recipe and then tried baking the chicken on a baking sheet in my convection oven and this is also very good. Of course, deep frying is best, but air baking them is also good. Thanks again. ^.^
Hi Ono Family! Thank you for trying many of my recipes! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoy my recipes. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hi,
Just wondering do you think it would be possible to cook this in an oven?
Hi Dana! I tried different methods but the result hasn’t come out to be even similar to the real deep-fried karaage, so I haven’t figured it out yet. 🙁 Hopefully I can figure out… It’s just nothing as close to the real deal Karaage. 🙁