Crispy Chicken Karaage (Less oil frying technique)

Wanna try an appetiser recipe that’s easy to follow yet would fetch you all praises?This great asian fried chicken recipe is like none other that it’s promised to win hearts of kids and adults alike for its rightly crisp texture and not too spicy yet flavourful marinade. How I developed this recipe – Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique of deep frying leaving a crusty and crispy coating of flour on top. This amazing appetiser could be doubled as a dinner time snack if you ever need a break from with your regular KFC buckets , chicken popcorn or wings as nothing compares to crispy yet juicy chicken karaage made at home.Having this dish from restaurants and seeing everyone praise its unique crisp, I badly wanted to try this at home, but was intimidated when I saw the amount of oil used for frying the chicken- actually they double fry it -for crisp benefits of course!So I did improvise this recipe a little bit and came up with an idea where first fry is in the air fryer during which most of the moisture is dried out making the second fry in oil more effective and easier. You could try the other way around too.i.e., first fry in oil and second in the air fryer if you prefer a more succulent chicken. What’s special about this recipe- “Perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy tender meat on the inside” is what I would describe this chicken Karaage as. And my version guarantees a “more healthier low calorie less oil technique “ so that you are left with no other option than to try making this dish at home.This is a very flexible recipe that, I have tips, tricks and alternative methods for people who do not have an airfryer at home. What you’ll need- For marination– 500g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (each thigh cut into 2 pieces) 1 teaspoon grated ginger  1 teaspoon minced garlic  2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar  2 tablespoons soy sauce  1.5 teaspoons white pepper powder  Half teaspoon salt  Half a beaten egg 1/4 cup flour   For frying– 1.25 cups cornflour Water-as required  Half teaspoon salt  Neutral oil like canola or sunflower,etc. for frying  How to make- Marinate the chicken in all the ingredients listed under marination -except egg and flour-atleast for an hour or preferably overnight in the refrigerator. Mix in the egg and flour to get a battery coating over the chicken pieces. In a bowl, combine cornflour with salt and add water by tablespoons mixing well after each addition to get a crumbled textured pearly flour coating. 3 methods of efficient “less oil” frying: 

1. In this method you air fry the chicken first  for 10 minutes at 200 degree Celsius, then deep fry it in the oil until light brown and crispy and drain excess oil on a towel
2. Or instead you could deep fry it first in the oil until just golden and cooked through, drain excess oil on a towel and then air fry at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes, until light brown and crispy.
3. Here is the alternative method for people who don’t have an airfryer at home. Choose your preferred method from the above two at use your 200 degrees preheated oven in the place place of the airfryer- but don’t forget to lay your chicken pieces uncrowded on a foil or parchment lined on a baking tray before putting it in the hot oven.

 Notes, tips and suggestions- 

• -This dish is traditionally serve with lemon wedges and sliced cabbage.
• -You could also used a mayo dip or a sriracha dip or even just ketchup.
• -Another quick and easy dip would be equal parts of sriracha mixed with equal parts of mayo.
• -Sprinkle your fried chicken with one or two pinches of paprika for a hotter version.