Japanese Fried Chicken (Karaage/唐揚げ), Served with Japanese Mayo and Cayenne Pepper

Never a big fan of air fryer. 

When talking about "frying" food, I believe only the oily method can really showcase the deliciousness and characteristics of a nicely fried dish. However, the tremendous amount of oil involved has always shunned me away from digging into this cooking method at home. 

Looking at my sad deep fryer that's been sitting in the cabinet for nearly a year, guess it's about time to embrace the grease, roll up the sleeves, and start the deep frying magic in the kitchen.

Japanese fried chicken (Karaage/唐揚げ) -

Ingredients?

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 clove grated garlic

Others:

• 1 lb deboned skin-on chicken thigh 
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Some black pepper
• 1 lemon wedge
• Some Japanese mayonnaise
• Some cayenne pepper
• Vegetable oil (for frying, I used two medium size bottles)

How?

Cut the chicken thigh into large bite size pieces. Prepare a container and add in all the marinade ingredients. Massage the chicken making sure all pieces are well coated by the marinade -

Cover and transfer to the fridge for 2 hours. Remove from the fridge and let the chicken rest in room temperate for 5 to 10 minutes before frying.

Pour the oil to the deep fryer or a big pot, wait till the temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper in a dish. Equal amount of flour and cornstarch. 

Use one hand to grab one piece of chicken to the flour mixture; use the other hand to grab some flour mixture to coat the chicken. One hand handles the wet chicken meat and the other hand handles the dry ingredients. This helps in avoiding sticky paste forming on the fingers and getting in the way of coating the chicken pieces.

After coating the chicken, gently shake away excess flour mixture then set aside, or straight into the fryer if you're quick enough coating all the chicken pieces. 

Fry the chicken in one or two batches for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the meat. My version took about 5 minutes.

Line a plate with kitchen towel and transfer the chicken over. Once the excess oil has been absorbed by the kitchen towel, transfer the karaage to a serving dish and squeeze some Japanese mayo on the side. 

Dust with cayenne pepper and serve with lemon wedge. 

Worth the effort, worth the oil - two bottles of vegetable oil. 


Other Japanese food recipes:

• Japanese pork slices and Napa cabbage hot pot (豚バラと白菜の重ね鍋)
• Clay pot chicken rice with 20 days old pickled daikon (goodies from Kyoto, Japan)
• Potato salad - one good way to utilize leftover ingredients
• A new type of Japanese rice balls, not onigiri, but "onigirazu" (おにぎらず)
• Japanese curry nabe for two - to make it even better? Top it with an egg

Utilizing Flavorful Broth - Spicy Asian Sausage Risotto with Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

My mom was boiling some spicy Asian sausages the other day. Instead of dumping the broth down to the drain, I asked her to turn up the heat and reduce the broth for a little bit. This flavorful liquid can further be utilized as stock base for soup noodles or in this case, risotto.

The broth left after making crab boil also works well for this recipe.

Spicy Asian sausage risotto with grated Parmigiano Reggiano -

Ingredients (3 to 4 portions)?

• 3 to 4 spicy Asian sausages or any type of spicy sausages
• 2 cups Acquerello or Arborio rice
• 3 1/2 cups broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Some salt
• Some grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Some chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley

How?

The main idea for this recipe is to utilize any flavored leftover broth from other dishes such as boiled sausages and crab boil. Any leftover Chinese style chicken soup works just as well even though with certain degrees of spiciness is preferred.

Cook the sausages, steam, boil, or pan-sear, either way works fine. Once cool down, slice the sausages diagonally then set aside for later use. Save any drippings (if any) and add to the broth also. Extra flavor is always welcomed. 

Peel and finely chop the shallots, need about 3 tablespoons - 

Use a non-stick pot, add in one tablespoon of oil and one tablespoon of unsalted butter. Turn to medium heat and wait till the butter starts to melt. Add in chopped shallots and one teaspoon of salt. Give it a quick stir and cook till the shallots turn translucent. 

Add in the rice and mix well, make sure all the grains are coated with that buttery oil, about 30 seconds. Pour in the broth just enough to cover all the grains each time and make sure to stir once a while to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot -

Pour in dry white wine towards the end and keep cooking. Adjust the texture with more broth if needed. 

When the rice is about ready, mix in sausage slices. Taste and see if more salt is needed. Remember that grated cheese is fairly salty so don't go overboard with the amount of salt here.

Transfer the risotto onto a serving plate. Grate generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano all over and garnish with chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley.

Try to use quality aged Parmigiano Reggiano if you can get a hold of it. It definitely got more depth in turns of flavor and saltiness. A high quality ingredient can totally make a big difference, especially for such a simple risotto recipe.


Other risotto recipes:

• Fancy meal at home - squid ink risotto with seared cuttlefish 
• Discover the benefit of buying whole shrimps - lemony shrimp risotto using homemade shrimp stock