For the perfect karaage, cut the chicken fillets into uniform sizes so that they cook evenly.Use potato starch for coating the chicken. It will give you the best results. If unavailable, you may use a combination of rice flour and cornstarch. Please do NOT use wheat-based flour.
1 ¼cupspotato starchyou may need more, or less, depending on the size of your chicken pieces
peanut oilor other oil with a high smoking point
Instructions
Wipe the chicken thigh fillets dry with paper towels then cut into cubes. We like 2"x2" cubes but you can make them slightly larger or smaller than that.
Place the chicken cubes in a bowl, add the soy sauce, mirin and ginger, and mix well. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In a fryer, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
Drain the chicken and dredge each piece in starch.
Over medium heat (310F to 325F if you're using a thermometer), fry the chicken cubes in batches. Three to four minutes per batch or just until the coating starts to turn crisp. Let the chicken rest on a rack as you fry the next batch, and so on.
When all the chicken cubes have been fried, turn up the heat to high (that's 350F to 375F with a thermometer).
Fry the chicken cubes a second time, in batches, for another two minutes.