Sweet Honey Chicken Karaage

Deep-fried food is hard to resist and one of the best versions out there is Japanese chicken karaage. Tender, juicy, full-of-flavor bites of chicken coated in a crispy crust and deep fried to golden perfection - what could be better? Karaage really is a do it all dish: it can be a snack, a starter, and a main depending how you serve it. No matter how you serve it, karaage will definitely satisfy you.

What is chicken karaage?

Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique - essentially a starch coated item that’s crispy from deep frying in oil. The most popular kind of karaage is chicken karaage or tori no karaage. In the case of chicken, the chicken is cut into small pieces, marinated in a flavorful mix of soy sauce and aromatics like garlic and ginger, then coated with flour or starch. After the chicken pieces are coated, they’re deep fried until golden and crisp, then served hot.

The origin of karaage

Karaage is known as a classic Japanese food, although technically, the cooking technique was inspired by Chinese-style cooking way back in the 17th century. Nowadays, karaage is a decidedly Japanese dish, celebrated across Japan and the world. In Japan, karaage is ubiquitously served at izakayas, or Japanese pubs, as well as dedicated chicken karaage restaurants.

Is karaage only chicken?

Karaage can be anything that’s dusted with starch, then deep-fried. That being said, when most people refer to karaage, they’re referring to chicken karaage, which is unanimously the most popular kind of karaage. Other types of karaage are: squid, tofu, pork, and various vegetables.

The best cut of chicken for karaage

The most common cut of chicken for karaage is boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are the juiciest part of chicken, which makes them ideal for deep-frying. If you are willing to put in a bit of extra work, buy skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Once you debone and cut the thighs into bite sized pieces, you’ll get the bonus of having a bit of crispy chicken skin on each piece of karaage. 

If you’re not a fan of chicken thighs, you can also use chicken breast, but your karaage will be slightly drier and you’ll have to watch the cooking time as chicken breast cooks very quickly compared to thighs.

What is karaage coated with?

Karaage is usually coated with potato starch, or katakuriko. Potato starch fries up into a crispy, light coating because unlike flour, there’s no gluten in it to make it gummy. You can easily find potato starch in the natural foods aisle of most grocery stores. Potato starch plus an equal amount of cornstarch will give your karaage the crispiest coat. If you can’t find potato starch, you can use a mix of flour and cornstarch, but it won’t be as light as using potato starch.

Sweet honey chicken karaage ingredients

chicken - any cut you like, but boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the standard for chicken karaage for juiciness and flavor.

Bachan’s Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce - marinating your chicken in Bachan’s Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce will give your chicken karaage the ultimate umami flavor. A mix of organic honey, soy, ginger, and green onion pops with a rich, warm flavor.

garlic and ginger - if you have them, using powdered ginger and garlic dials down the prep work without sacrificing any flavor. Powder ginger and garlic are simply dehydrated then pulverized. Powders are ideal in marinades because they mix in and cling much better than freshly minced garlic and ginger, but fresh is great too.

potato starch - potato starch is the starch extracted from potatoes. It’s similar to flour, but without any gluten, making it fry up crisp and light. You’ll find it in the natural food aisle in most grocery stores.

cornstarch - corn starch, similar to potato starch, is starch that’s extracted from corn grains. It’s lighter and finer compared to flour.

neutral oil - look for an oil that has a high smoke point, like avocado, canola, or sunflower.

How to make sweet honey chicken karaage

Cut. Cut the chicken into bite sized cubes, about 1 to 1.5 inches in size.

Marinate. Place the prepped chicken in a large bowl with Bachan’s Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce, powdered garlic and ginger, and a bit of oil. Mix well.

Coat. In a separate large bowl, whisk together potato starch and cornstarch. Take pieces of chicken, shaking off any excess marinade, and toss in the starch to thoroughly coat. Place the coated pieces of chicken on a baking sheet and continue until all the pieces of chicken are coated.

Deep-fry. In a deep pot, bring 2 inches of neutral oil to 350°F over medium high heat. When hot, gently add the pieces of coated chicken to the oil in batches, about 4-6 at a time. Deep fry, until golden and cooked through, about 4-6 minutes per batch. Remove from the oil when cooked and drain on a wire rack. Keep warm in a low oven while you deep fry the remaining karaage.

Enjoy! When all the karaage is fried, toss in a large bowl with a generous amount of Bachan's Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce, making sure every nook and cranny is covered. Enjoy hot, as soon as possible.

What to serve with sweet honey chicken karaage

If you’re having karaage as a snack or appetizer, you don’t need to serve it with anything other than extra Bachan’s Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce for dipping and maybe some lemon wedges.

If you want to make your karaage a meal, serve it with rice, shredded cabbage, and miso soup.