Karaage Rice Bowl

Karaage, pronounced kah-rah-ah-geh, is Japanese style fried chicken that is as popular as
gyoza.  There are many different ways to season the chicken, but the marinated chicken is always coated with potato/corn starch or flour and deep-fried until golden brown.
Karaage Rice Bowl

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts(roughly 1 lb, or 5 thighs)
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (43 g)
• ⅓ cup potato/corn starch (55 g)
• 3 cups neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for deep frying)
• 3 cups cooked Japanese short grain rice (I cooked 1.5 rice-cooker-cups (240 ml uncooked rice *See Notes)
• Japanese mayonnaise
• shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
• 2 green onions/scallions

Seasonings:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 Tbsp sake
• 1 Tbsp Tianmianjiang (Sweet Bean Sauce)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp sesame oil
• la-yu (Japanese chili oil) (optional)

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Butterfly and cut the chicken breast in half. I also separate out the chicken tender. 
3. Pound the chicken to equal thickness with a meat tenderizer or the back of a knife. Then cut into ½ inch wide strips.
4. Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl.  Add crushed garlic (minced garlic) and grated ginger. 
5. Add the rest of the ingredients for seasonings. Mix and coat the chicken well with the marinate. Keep in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.
6. Combine all-purpose flour and potato/corn starch in a medium bowl and whisk well together.
7. Heat oil in a saucepan or wok over medium high heat. Check to see if the oil is ready for deep frying. Put a chopstick in the oil and when you see the bubbles around it, it’s ready!
8. Coat a piece of chicken in the flour mixture and dust off the excess flour.  Place 5 chicken pieces slowly into the wok. Do not crowd the wok.
9. Deep fry the chicken over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. If the chicken gets brown too quickly, take it out and lower the oil temperature by reducing the heat a little bit and put the chicken back in.
10. When the chicken is cooked and nicely brown, transfer to a wire rack or paper towel to drain excess oil. Make sure to pick up foams and crumbs between batches.  The crumbs in the oil make the oil darker, so frequently skim it with a fine mesh skimmer.
11. For garnish, cut the green onion into small pieces.  To make the sauce, combine soy sauce,  sesame oil, and la-yu (optional) in a small bowl.
12. Serve rice in a large serving bowl and place the chicken on top.
13. Drizzle the sauce and Japanese mayonnaise on top.
14. Garnish with Kizami Nori and green onions. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Steamed Rice: 1.5 rice cooker cups (240 ml) yields roughly 3 American cups. 

https://www.justonecookbook.com/chinese-style-karaage-don/