Smol Karaage

Scaled down quick and dirty kaarage recipe.  Just enough for a couple of servings.  No need for a deep fryer.

Equipment

• 1/4 cup measuring cup
• 1 tsp measuring spoon
• 1/2 tsp measuring spoon
• Chef's Knife
• Ziplock Baggies or resealable container
• Small bowl
• Tongs
• Smallish dutch oven
• Small cooling rack

Servings

2 (approximately X pieces per serving)

Ingredients

• 11-12 oz bird meat
• Chicken thigh is the usual suspect, I rocked turkey 'cause why not?
• 1.5 tsp ginger
• Fresh ground if your fancy, from a spice jar is just fine.
• .5 tsp minced/crushed garlic
• Fresh is great but from a jar is also perfectly acceptable.
• 4.5 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• Can substitute in a no-sodium alternative.
• 1.5 tsp sake
• Just get what's cheap.
• 1.5 tsp Aji-Mirin
• 1/4 cup starchy product
• Potato starch is best, corn starch will do.
• Cooking oil
• For frying, canola, vegetable, or peanut will do. On this batch I rocked veg oil 'cause it's what I've got on hand without having to buy special oil.
• 1 Lemon
  
• Optional, for serving. (I pass, personally.)

Preparation

Marinade

1. Mix ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, and aji-mirin in a resealable container or ziplock bag and shake it up.

Karaage

1. Cut the bird meat into approximately 1-inch (25mm) pieces.
2. Marinate for 30-60 minutes. (IN THE FRIDGE!)
3. In a small bowl, toss/dredge the meat pieces to an even coating of the starchy product.

Frying

• Add enough oil to the Dutch oven to cover about half of the breaded bird meat, and heat until about 360˚f.
• Carefully place dredged bird meat into the oil, flipping occasionally until the surface is golden brown and the meat is cooked.
• Rest the fried bird meat on the cooling rack for a few minutes before serving.
• ProTip: Put a paper towel under the bird meat to absorb oil that drips off the garage.

JQL Serving Suggestion

I like to stack my karaage over rice and serve it with a little bit of wasabi mayo sauce. Again, nothing too fancy is necessary, and often, I'll just use microwavable brown rice because it's quick and easy.

JQL Notes

After making the recipe a few times, I've found that I get much better results if I don't wholly fry the chick chunks in one go.  I've taken to frying the chicken for ~3 minutes, letting it rest for 5 minutes, then frying it again for 2-3 minutes to finish.

Nutritional Information

Nutritional information was calculated with the assumption of ~2 tbsp oil retention by the karaage.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 594
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 22 g	34 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	22 %
Monounsaturated Fat 5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 9 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 141 mg	47 %
Sodium 1439 mg	60 %
Potassium 684 mg	20 %
Total Carbohydrate 22 g	7 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	6 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 73 g	146 %
Vitamin A	2 %
Vitamin C	2 %
Calcium	3 %
Iron	12 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Inspired by: https://san-j.com/recipes/karaage-japanese-fried-chicken/