Togarashi Karaage
I can’t resist fried chicken in any form, and this is a fabulous one. A light coating of potato starch and twice-frying make the chicken extra crispy. Not a meat eater? Substitute cubes of firm tofu or meaty mushrooms instead of chicken. Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skin-on chicken thighs or boneless skin-on breasts
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger with juice
- 1 small clove garlic, peeled and pressed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 2 teaspoons mirin
- 1 whole green onion, trimmed and minced
- 1 tablespoon shichimi togarashi
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, optional
- 4 cups expeller pressed neutral oil
- ½ cup potato starch plus more if needed
- Scallion Togarashi Mayo, recipe follows
Directions
1. Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Season with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Add ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, mirin, green onion, shichimi togarashi and sesame oil to the chicken bowl. Mix together with your hands or a wooden spoon to coat chicken evenly with marinade. Cover and keep in the refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. To deep-fry, pour the oil into a heavy-bottomed pot. The pan should be large enough so that the oil rises no higher than halfway up the sides. Slowly heat the oil to 325 degrees F on medium heat. Ready 2 wire racks over half sheet pans, one to receive the dredged chicken and one to receive the fried chicken.
4. While the oil is heating up, prepare the chicken for dredging. Place the chicken in a strainer to drain off excess liquid for 20 minutes. Discard the liquid.
5. Place the potato starch in a shallow dish. Coat the chicken in the potato starch and then shake to remove the excess starch and place on one of the prepared wire racks. Continue with the remaining chicken pieces. Chicken can be placed on the rack in the refrigerator uncovered if you aren’t frying immediately. Do not cover the chicken otherwise the coating will become soggy.
6. Check that the oil temperature has reached 325 degrees F with an instant read thermometer. When the oil is hot enough, gently submerge 5 chicken pieces in the oil at a time; do not overcrowd the pot. 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.
7. First Deep-Fry: Fry pieces 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 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.
8. 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.
9. Second Deep-Fry: Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Place 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.
10. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle the chicken lightly with togarashi. Serve the chicken hot with Scallion Togarashi Mayo for dipping.
Note: To store leftover chicken, cool completely, place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
Recipe: Scallion Togarashi Mayo
Shichimi Togarashi may be purchased from The Vineyard Kitchen Larder.