Skinnymixer’s Karaage Chicken features in the Takeaway section of the cookbook SkinnyAsia 2.
Karaage Chicken is always a must-order when we go out for sushi, but those little restaurant serves disappear VERY quickly.
So, naturally, we needed to make our own.
Our Karaage Chicken starts with juicy chicken thigh marinated in soy, ginger, garlic, mirin and sesame oil. It’s then coated and cooked until beautifully golden and crispy.
What is Karaage Chicken?
Karaage is a popular Japanese cooking technique where pieces of meat, most commonly chicken, are seasoned, coated and fried.
For our version, chicken thigh is cut into bite-sized pieces and marinated with:
- Soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Mirin – See our Tips for Cooking Gluten-Free Asian Food.
- Sesame oil
- A little sugar
- White pepper
The chicken is then coated in a mixture containing potato starch and flour before frying.
The result is juicy, savoury chicken surrounded by a light, crispy coating.
Potato Starch or Cornflour?
The recipe allows you to use either potato starch or cornflour, but they can produce slightly different results.
If you can find it, potato starch is our first choice for Karaage. It produces a wonderfully light, crisp coating with those irregular crunchy patches that make Karaage so good.
Cornflour is an easy substitute and will still give you deliciously crispy chicken.
You’ll usually find potato starch in the Asian or international section of larger supermarkets, Asian grocers or specialty food stores.
Don’t Skip Draining the Marinade
After marinating, drain the excess marinade from the chicken before adding the coating.
You still want the surface of the chicken moist enough for the coating to stick, but it shouldn’t be dripping wet.
Too much liquid can turn your dry coating into a thick paste rather than giving you those light, crispy pieces.
How to Coat Karaage Chicken
Coat each piece individually in the dry mixture, making sure all sides are covered.
You don’t need every piece to look perfectly smooth.
In fact, those slightly uneven, craggy patches of coating become some of the crispiest bits once fried.
Set the coated chicken onto a tray while you prepare the oil.
Getting the Oil Temperature Right
Oil temperature makes a big difference.
Too hot: the coating can brown before the chicken is cooked through.
Too cool: the chicken takes longer to cook and the coating can absorb more oil rather than becoming beautifully crisp.
If you have a kitchen thermometer, this is a great time to use it.
How Do I Know When Karaage Chicken is Cooked?
The exact cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken pieces and the temperature of your oil.
The recipe uses pieces approximately 4 cm or 1.6 inches in size as a guide.
Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 74°C or 165°F.
A digital instant-read thermometer is the easiest way to check without repeatedly cutting pieces open. I love to use a Thermoworks Thermapen.
Air Fryer Karaage Chicken
Yes, you can make this Karaage in the Air Fryer.
There’s one particularly important step:
Make Sure There Are No Dry Floury Patches
After coating the chicken, drizzle it with the amount of oil specified in SkinnyAsia 2 and toss thoroughly.
The coating should look lightly moistened by the oil rather than powdery.
Arrange the chicken in a single layer in your Air Fryer basket, leaving enough space for hot air to circulate.
If you can still see dry white patches, give those areas a light spray with oil.
Fried vs Air Fryer Karaage
Both are delicious, but don’t expect them to be completely identical.
Fried Karaage will give you the classic light, irregular fried coating and is our choice when you’re chasing that traditional Karaage experience.
Air Fryer Karaage is a fantastic option for an easy weeknight dinner with much less oil and clean-up. You may have some floury patches.
Whichever method you choose, the key is starting with well-marinated chicken and making sure the coating becomes properly crisp.
Can I Prepare Karaage Ahead?
Absolutely.
The chicken can marinate in the refrigerator for 1–6 hours, making it easy to prepare earlier in the day and cook fresh for dinner.
For the best coating, wait until you’re ready to cook before tossing the chicken through the starch and flour mixture.
Freezer Prep for Karaage Chicken
This is one of our favourite ways to make Karaage even easier next time.
Prepare the chicken and marinade, combine them and freeze together before coating.
Defrost safely in the refrigerator, drain away the excess marinade and then coat and cook according to the recipe.
Freezing the chicken without the coating gives you a much better freshly cooked result.
Dietary & Recipe Variations
GLUTEN FREE
Use gluten-free plain flour and tamari or another gluten-free soy sauce alternative. Check your mirin and other packaged ingredients if required.
LOW CARB
Skip the flour and use a very light dusting of unflavoured whey protein powder instead of potato starch. Use the compliant sweetener and mirin alternative provided in the book.
SUPER SKINNY
Use chicken breast and skip the coating. Grill the chicken pieces after marinating for a lighter variation.
PALEO
Use tapioca starch in place of the flour, with potato starch if desired. The recipe also includes alternatives for the mirin and soy sauce.
VEGETARIAN
Swap the chicken for pressed extra-firm tofu.
LOW FODMAP
Replace the fresh garlic with garlic-infused olive oil and use suitable versions of the remaining sauces.
HALVED / DOUBLED
This recipe can be halved or doubled. When doubling, continue frying in small batches rather than overcrowding the pan.
What to Serve with Karaage Chicken
Sometimes all Karaage needs is a squeeze of fresh lemon and plenty of Creamy Japanese Mayonnaise for dipping.
To turn it into a bigger Japanese-style meal, serve it with:
- Honey Soy Edamame
- Japanese Potato Salad
- Crunchy Asian Rice Salad
- A simple green salad with Japanese Sesame Dressing
Or put everything in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.
Get the Recipe
The complete Karaage Chicken recipe, including the marinade, crispy coating, Thermo cooker and conventional preparation, frying method, Air Fryer instructions and dietary variations, is available in SkinnyAsia 2.
From the Testing Team
- Sarah K. – This was delicious
its a regular order at our Japanese restaurant so nice to be able to make at home, we had ours with a goma mayo - Betty W. – Frying these up now for after school/before sports snack – nailed it Nikalene. Just like the real deal and we’ve eaten heeaaaappps lately
- Jess A. – Ok. This books a winner. This chicken is the most delicious chicken I’ve ever eaten in my life lol. I used breast because I don’t eat thigh. Wow!!! Everyone is STOKED.
- Leia S. – Absolutely delicious
Gluten free. I did use breast & used the whole tray rather then put 2 breasts back into the fridge. I knew my tribe of hungry males would devour it. I had more than enough marinade & coating to do the whole tray. Cooked in batches in the deep fryer & checked temp with the thermometer. Absolutely delicious. Mr 14 drowned his in soy sauce 
. The mayo & fresh lemon went so well with it. - Tara L. – Well how good was that!! Followed recipe exactly. 5 Pieces at a time and doing my best to maintain a temp of 160 degrees in my Breville electric Wok. This had the wok on saute function. Next time I’d put it on it’s highest function which is the stir fry function because I think mine could have been a little crispier but no complaints heard. Everyone too busy devouring. Flavour was fabulous. May use leftovers in some sushi rolls. Perfect amount of coating and perfect amount of marinade. Very little waste.
- Veronica B. – Ooooh my goodness am I having a feast today!! Just finished testing these beauties
portion control is out the door haha. Not much coating left after covering the chicken, so no wastage. Cooked in batches of 5 for 3mins turning at the halfway mark, turned out perfectly!! Yummm 10/10 - Sarah M. – Delicious! Kids enjoyed it as much as the adults which is always a win!
- Lisa S. – Omg delicious!! Used GF flour & potato starch as per recipe but had to swap mirin to sake as I couldn’t find any GF. A family winner with everyone loving it!
- Cassie R. – Chicken Karaage has always been a family favourite in our house. Every time we go to our favourite local Japanese restaurant it is one of the first dishes we order. There was a huge whoop of excitement from my Mr 14 and Miss 16 when they heard that we were going to having home made Chicken Karaage for dinner tonight! We served ours with some ginger garlic rice, Kewpie Mayo and a quick Ponzu sauce that we whipped up. Oh my lord. Sooooooooooo goooooood! Absolute silence, as dinner was devoured in record time, and any plans for leftovers for lunch were thwarted by everyone immediately asking for a second serve. Miss 16 exclaimed “Mum bro, this is peak!”
Will absolutely be cooking this again and again and again and again! New Friday Fakeaway meal unlocked! Super quick and easy to cook, inexpensive and absolutely delicious! It ticks all of the boxes. - Amanda E. – Absolutely AMAZING!!!! We loved this so much! Not a skerrick left over! I started with 6 pieces in the wok. Once I turned the first batch I added another 6 pieces. Kept this going and they all cooked really well!!!
- Julie H. – This is sooo good. Lunch today with pickled cabbage done in 3 batches with the oil at 160 letting it get back to 160 each time before adding the chicken. Winner Winner for us
- Angie G. – Made for dinner tonight. The chicken tasted absolutely delicious Nice and crunchy on the outside and tender & juicy inside !! Quite moreish yum yum. Served with kewpie mayo, lemon wedges and a side salad topped with last of sesame salad dressing.
- Di W. – Rogue version tonight, “slightly skinny”…. I used breast because my girls are fussy and can taste thigh from a mile away then only one of them comes for dinner.
Anyway, recipe followed exactly, and I did a quick fry to seal, then popped into the air fryer to cook through. Flavour was really good. - Erica B. – I made this for tea last night and the chicken was super tender and delicious Even my thermomix hating husband loved the dish
Winner winner chicken dinner.
Some other Thermomix Takeaway Chicken recipes you might love:
Want to know more about SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook?
SkinnyAsia 2 is a collection of Thermomix & Conventional cooking recipes. All of our cookbooks have a strong focus on Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Egg Free, Low Carb, Paleo, Vegetarian and Low FODMAP.
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken thigh
- fresh lemon wedges
- baking powder
- high heat neutral oil
- mirin
- plain flour
- Creamy Japanese Mayonnaise
- potato starch
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- sugar of choice
- fresh ginger
- garlic
- ground white pepper
Instructions
- This recipe is exclusive to the SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook.
FAQs
Why isn’t my Karaage Chicken crispy?
A few things can make a difference. Drain excess marinade before coating, make sure the oil is at the correct temperature and fry in small batches so the oil doesn’t cool too much. For the Air Fryer method, make sure there are no dry, floury patches on the coating before cooking and don’t overcrowd the basket.
Can I freeze Karaage Chicken in the marinade?
Yes. Prepare the raw chicken and marinade and freeze them together before adding the coating. Defrost in the refrigerator, drain off excess marinade, coat and cook fresh. It’s a great way to have most of the preparation already done for another meal.