Have you ever had chicken karaage at a Japanese restaurant. Without fail I always order it if it is on the menu. There is something about the softer fry, the tangy sauce, the sweet and savory chicken that makes me order this outrageous $10 for 5 piece appetizer. This Tatsuta-age chicken recipe is a good alternative to this popular appetizer that is easier to do at home, and with not as many ingredients. In this picture I serve it with Garlic sesame aioli, green onions, and rice, because it tastes amazing that way, and I had it for lunch. If you want to serve it as an appetizer put it in a bowl, with no green onions, and have the Garlic sesame aioli in a different bowl.
I typically cook about 1 lb of chicken thigh, but that goes in about 2 minutes with my family at the table. If I was going to serve tatsuta-age chicken for more than 4 people I would probably make 2 – 3 lbs so that everyone could eat some. If I was going to a potluck this just might be one of my go-to dishes to cook, if I wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed my dish.
Tips for cooking Tatstua-age Japanese Marinated Fried Chicken
- Cut the chicken thigh pieces – Into a bit bigger than your typical pieces. If you cut them too small the potato starch will overwhelm the chicken and it will taste a bit too crunchy.
- Garlic sesame aioli – I would always have a sauce with the dish. I don’t think it has to have a sauce, but it just tastes even better I think. A Garlic sesame aioli or a srirachi aioli would be dynamite.
- Chicken thigh – I have had this type of dish with chicken breast and it always tastes too chickeny, if you get my drift. It is too chewy for my taste, and it is really easy to overfry.
If you like pork better, than this Tatsuta Pork recipe is probably more your thing. If you feel like Teriyaki instead of this tatsuta chicken, then I would try this teriyaki chicken recipe. I did not add sake to this recipe, but traditionally it is added. If you want to add sake to the recipe, then reduce the water by 1 tbsp and add 1 tbsp of sake.
Tatsuta-age Chicken
Equipment
- Wok or Cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken thigh
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 2 tbsp Water
- 1/4 cup Potato starch
- 3 cups Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Get ingredients
- Mix together soy sauce, mirin, and water.
- Beat chicken thigh with the edge of the knife. Do not cut, but make ridges in the chicken.
- Cut chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces.
- Put the chicken thigh in a pyrex or tupperware for marinating. Pour the soy sauce, mirin, and water mix over the chicken thighs making sure to submerge all chicken thigh pieces.
- Put in the refrigerator and marinate for about 20 minutes.
- Put 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in your wok or cast iron pan, and heat on medium heat. Wait until the oil reaches 350 degrees. I put a wooden chopstick in and watch for the oil to bubble around the chopstick to know when it is ready, but feel free to measure the temp.
- When your chicken is done marinating you can remove it to a plate. Now coat all of the sides of the chicken with potato starch. Your chicken should look like it was covered in powdered sugar. Don't worry if it isn't completely covered, the marinade will soak up some the potato starch.
- Piece by piece put the chicken into the hot oil slowly! You are frying so spatters can occur, make sure to watch out for that. I fry for about 3 minutes and then flip the chicken for 3 minutes. To check for chicken done-ness I put a cooked chicken on a cutting board and cut through it.
- When serving I add Garlic sesame aioli and green onions and eat it over rice if it is main dish. If it is an appetizer I just would have the Garlic sesame oil as in a dipping bowl next to it.
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