Japanese Chicken Karaage, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
International dishesFried DishesJapanAbout 60 minutes including marinating time
This gives chicken that stays soft inside with a crust that holds its crunch. Ginger, garlic and soy sauce sink deep, and it goes a long way with hot rice. The difficulty is that a single fry lets the crust soften and the pieces turn limp.
The chicken soaks in 200ml unsweetened oat milk for 15 to 20 minutes. It then goes into the oil twice, with the second round over high heat for about 45 seconds.
This batch weighs about 594g, at roughly 96 calories per 100g.
Method
Bone and skin the chicken, rinse it, then cut it into small bite sized pieces of about 4 to 5cm. Soak the chicken in 200ml unsweetened oat milk for 15 to 20 minutes, then lift it into a colander to drain.
Scrape and rinse 10g ginger, bruise it and mince it. Peel and mince 10g garlic.
Marinate the chicken with the minced ginger and garlic, 15ml soy sauce, 15ml mirin, 2ml sesame oil and 1.8g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend for about 30 minutes. For deeper flavor, cover it and chill for 2 to 3 hours.
Pour enough oil into a pan to cover the chicken and bring it up to heat. While the oil heats, toss 40g potato starch through the marinated chicken so every piece carries at least a thin coat.
Fry the first round over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the pieces are evenly golden, then lift them out, working in batches.
Bring the oil back up to heat, add the chicken and fry over high heat for about 45 seconds until deep golden. Lift out to drain, plate up and serve hot.
Tips
A soak in oat milk leaves the chicken tender and keeps it from drying out.
Potato starch gives a crust that stays crisp longer, tapioca starch stands in, and all purpose flour softens quickly.
Frying too many pieces at once drops the oil temperature and leaves the chicken soft.
Coat the chicken in the starch right before it goes into the pan, since coating it early lets the starch draw water from the meat and slide off in the oil.
Keep the second fry very quick over high heat so the crust deepens while the meat stays juicy.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.