Japanese-Style Fried Chicken Thighs (Gluten-Free Karaage) Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

Butterflying and scoring the chicken thighs makes for better absorption of the marinade and more even cooking.
The marinade combines classic karaage ingredients with American buttermilk for added tenderness.
A double-dredging of potato starch makes the chicken extra crisp.

Karaageis Japanese-style fried chicken made with a flavorful soy-based marinade. It comes out light, crispy, and full of flavor. One of our favorite uses for potato starch is to coat fried foods—if you've never cooked with potato starch, this recipe will convince you that you must keep it in your pantry at all times.

Because we couldn't help ourselves, we butterflied the chicken thighs before marinating them. That lets the marinade penetrate more quickly and also promotes even cooking. And it increases the surface area, so you have even more crispy fried goodness to enjoy.

To butterfly the chicken, lay one chicken thigh skin side down on a cutting board, with the bone running vertically. Use a sharp paring knife to cut down the center to the bone, from top to bottom. Gently slide the knife horizontally to the left to butterfly the meat, being careful not to cut all the way through it. Carefully open the flap and lightly score the meat in a crosshatch pattern, again being careful not to cut all the way through the meat, then repeat on the right side of the thigh.

We add the thighs to the bowl with the marinade, a blend of Japanese flavors (ginger, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar), along with American buttermilk to make sure the finished chicken is juicy, tender, and delicious. After that, they go into a zipper-lock bag to rest for 12 to 24 hours.

The real key to an extra-crisp crust is double-dipping. We roll the thighs in the potato starch to coat, then put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the thighs are dredged, they go for aseconddip into the potato starch.

Chicken thighs can handle a lot more heat than chicken breasts, which are prone to dryness, so you can fry these guys until they're extra golden brown and crispy. We fry them in a cast iron skillet with an inch and a half of oil, frying them for a full eight minutes on each side.

For the oil, we prefer rice bran. It's one of our favorite oils for frying. Produced from the bran of the rice kernel, it is 20% saturated fat and 80% unsaturated fat, has a light, nutty flavor, and is unlikely to cause allergic reactions. It has long been used in Asia both as a cooking oil and for cosmetic purposes.

As the chicken thighs finish cooking, we transfer them to a wire rack and keep them in a warm oven until all of them are cooked and ready to serve. Once you've tried this, you will never make fried chicken any other way.

Excerpted from the bookGluten-Free Flour Power by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot

September 2015

Recipe Details

Japanese-Style Fried Chicken Thighs (Gluten-Free Karaage) Recipe

Active45 mins

Total12 hrs

Serves3to 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120g)buttermilk
See Also
Crock Pot Chicken Chili Recipe
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons (33g) gluten-freesoy sauce
1 tablespoon (14g) Asiansesame oil
1 tablespoon (13g) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1.5g) finesea salt
6 medium chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds or 1kg)
3 cups (552g)potato starch
Rice bran oilor peanut oil for deep-frying

Directions

Put buttermilk, ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Lay one chicken thigh skin side down on a cutting board, with the bone running vertically, and use a sharp paring knife to cut down the center to the bone, from top to bottom. Gently slide the knife horizontally to the left to butterfly the meat, being careful not to cut all the way through it. Carefully open the flap and lightly score the meat in a crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through the meat. Repeat on the right side of the thigh. Add the thigh to the bowl with the marinade and repeat with the remaining 5 thighs.
Mix the thighs and marinade together, coating each piece thoroughly. Transfer the meat and marinade to a large zipper-lock bag, press out as much air as possible, and seal the bag. Put the bag in a shallow bowl in the refrigerator and marinate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally to distribute the marinade evenly.
Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set a wire rack on another baking sheet. Put the potato starch in a large bowl.
Remove one chicken thigh from the marinade, brushing off any pieces of garlic, ginger, or scallion, and add to the potato starch. The marinade clinging to the chicken will help the starch adhere to the meat. Roll the thigh in the potato starch, coating it thoroughly, then put it on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining thighs. Then, beginning with the first thigh, dredge each one a second time in the potato starch and return it to the parchment-lined pan.
Set a large cast iron skillet on the stovetop and add 1 1/2 inches of oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375°F (190°C). Once the oil has come to temperature, add 2 or 3 chicken thighs to the skillet, depending on its size (be careful not to crowd the pan), and fry for about 8 minutes, until the bottom sides are golden brown. Flip the thighs and cook for another 8 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown on the other side. Transfer to the rack set over the baking sheet and slide into the oven to keep warm. Fry the remaining chicken thighs, transferring them to the oven as they are done. If not serving immediately, turn off the oven and prop the oven door open a crack so that the thighs remain warm and crisp.
Put the fried chicken on a platter and serve family style, with your favorite accompaniments.