What if those crispy little bite-sized pieces of deep-fried chicken came with Karaage flavour!? It was a light bulb moment when I saw a KFC popcorn chicken ad. Would you like to know how to cook it at home? Here is my recipe for the ever-popular fried chicken cooked the Japanese way. This recipe is packed with Japanese Umami flavour which comes from soy sauce, sake, ginger and garlic! 
What is Karaage Chicken?
Karaage chicken is the Japanese version of fried chicken. Basically, bite-sized marinated chicken pieces are generously coated with potato starch, and then deep fried. It is an immensely popular menu item at any Izakaya style restaurant and also a timeless “go-to” dinner that Japanese mothers (or fathers) will cook for the family feast.
What to season popcorn chicken with?
What are the KFC secret herbs and spices? I don’t know, because they’re a secret, right! Nevermind, I am going to share my secret with you, and I believe the seasoning is better than KFC’s. I marinate pieces of chicken with soy sauce, sake, ginger and garlic (or garlic powder). That’s it. Very simple but packed with umami flavour!
Chicken Thighs vs Chicken Breasts
Chicken thighs are not a great choice. Why? They are the oily part of the chicken, and popcorn chicken is a fried food. Chicken breasts may have less flavour than the thighs but because we marinate the chicken, and also generously coat with potato starch, they turn out to be as juicy and flavorful as chicken thighs.
How to deep fry popcorn chicken?
This is a super easy recipe. You don’t need a flour mixture to coat the chicken pieces. We cover the marinated chicken with potato starch called “Katakuriko”. Although Some Karaage recipes suggest deep frying twice, this recipe does not because the chicken is coated by katakuriko generously. When Katakuriko is deep-fried, it becomes super crispy!
How about dipping sauce?
This Karaage popcorn chicken is insanely delicious. It oozes with Japanese Umami flavour. So you probably will not need any dipping sauce. However, if you are the type of person who likes to dip, try sweet chilli sauce, or Japanese mayonnaise. I would just eat it with a lemon wedge.
Serving suggestions with popcorn chicken
If you serving popcorn chicken as a snack, I would serve popcorn chicken in a takeaway cardboard with parchment paper lined with Renkon lotus root chips. When you serve popcorn chicken as a side dish, I would serve with Japanese potato salad and some green salad leaves.
Other Karaage related recipes
Don’t forget to check out my other Karaage recipes too : Karaage , and Karaage Salad
If you liked my recipe for Popcorn Chicken Karaage infusion, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
If you liked my recipe for Popcorn Chicken, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
Popcorn Chicken 唐揚げポップコーン
Ingredients
- 250 g Chicken thigh
- 250 g Chicken breast
- 1/2 cup Katakuriko potato starch (enough to cover all the chicken)
- Vegetable oil amount depends on the size of your pan or fryer
marinade
- 2 tbsp Sake
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Minced ginger
- 1/2 tbsp Minced garlic
Instructions
- Cut the chicken meat into mini bite sized pieces.
- Mix sake, soy sauce, ginger and garlic all together in a ziplock bag.
- Add the chicken to the bag and massage the bag. Marinate the chicken in the bag and leave it aside for about 20 minutes.
- Place the potato starch in a shallow container or in a bowl and roll the marinated chicken pieces in it to coat them. Shake off the excess starch.
- Fill a deep saucepan with the cooking oil (or an electric deep fryer, which is what I used) about ⅔ full and heat to about 180 c degree. Dip a chopstick into the oil and if tiny bubbles form at the bottom of the pan, then it is ready to deep fry the meat.
- Cook the chicken meat until the outside is golden brown and crispy.
- Take the chicken out and leave it on a plate with a paper towels placed under it and over it to absorb the excess oil.
- Serve with any condiments you like, such as lemon, mayo, or salt and pepper.
Hi there Chronicles,
been loving the recipes as I do my food reading/research for nifty recipes (and just viewing food porn for ideas for dinner /experiments/ food learning etc).
the question I’m curious about is where did you get your little oil wok? it looks like just the right size for heating small serves. it’s deeper than a usual wok and the narrower opening looks like it will reduce splash up… plus its cute!
and I spy a little spout for emptying the oil out later which looks far more easy than my current woks haha.
much appreciated for the tip if you please 🙂
Hi Tahleena, I bought it in Japan and brought it back to Australia. There are similar one on amazon.
Ohhh yum! Will be making this to snack on before serving sushi rolls tonight. Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome Julie
Wooow This looks too crispy, Thanks for sharing such an amazing recipes..
Oh my gosh I love the flavor of this chicken. And so crispy too!
Thank you Aimee 😀
Looks amazing! I’m going to Japan for sakura soon, so will make your recipe to get ready!
Ohhh Cindy, it will be soooo beautiful sakura in Japan 😀 Eat delicious Japanese food under Sakura trees!
Amazing! I made this today and it was perfect. Thank you!
Hi Candace, I am glad that you like it 😀
the only trouble with these, you keep eating……….. !
🤣🤣🤣
wow i love it !
Thank you!
When you talk about this dish you state you need to fry the chicken twice but your recipe doesn’t show that. Is it fried twice or once, thank
Hi Aj. Twice is correct. I will fix the recipe. Thank you for letting me know 😀
はじめまして。レシピブログからきました。
お料理もおいそうだし、写真もきれいですごく素敵なブログです！
欧米ではFOOD BLOGGERが注目されていますが、
まだ日本ではShihokoさんのようなブログはほんの一握りですよね（既存のブログサイトを使われる方が多数だから）。
わたしは過去にアメリカに住んでいた関係で、Americanなレシピを探すためにアメリカのブロガーさんたちのブログをよく参考にしてました。最近わたしもWordpressを使ってレシピサイトをつくりましたが、なかなか難しくて笑。Shihokoさんのブログ、とても素敵なのでレシピだけでなくサイトづくりの面でもいろいろと参考にさせてください。
ながながとすみません。今日もよい一日をお過ごしください♪
Yokoさん 初めまして。私のブログ見つけてくださってありがとう。実は私も ７月に このブログをたちあげたばかりで、わからないことがいっぱいです。そうですね、アメリカは 本当に Food Blogger がいっぱいいて、多くのかたは、だんなや、パートナーが裏方で、IT面のサポートがあるようですが、私は、いないので、一人で、がんばっています。英語も 苦手ですが、大学生の娘に 編集してもらっています。英語ができるのであれば、いろんな、Food Bloggerサポートサイトがあるので、紹介します。また、私でお手伝いできることがあれば、えんりょなく、 メールくださいね。日本からの コメントとても嬉しかったです。私のブログこれからもよろしくお願いしますね。
Asian fusion recipes are always a good idea 🙂 Your popcorn chicken looks delicious that i want to bite in my phone 😉
Greetings from Germany
Hi Viet-Huong, Thank you for visitng my blog all the way from Germany!