A few weeks ago I had the grand idea to make a bento-style lunchbox meal prep for Alex, but life happened and I didn’t get the chance. Instead, we had a bento-themed dinner later on in the week with a few of the things I had planned to make. Some things slipped through the cracks while I struggled through learning how to deep fry with no trial run (rest in peace, hot dogs cut to look like tiny octopi), but overall it was a lot of fun and I would definitely like to try something like that again! Also, deep frying is so much easier when your oil is actually at the correct temperature. Invest in a candy thermometer, people!
Quick side note–I know there are a few different types of Japanese fried chicken (chicken katsu, karaage, and tempura to name a few) that all use unique batters and techniques. I ended up making a combination of tempura and karaage because of the marinade, but I’ll be calling it tempura because that’s the type of batter I used.
This recipe makes five servings.
Ingredients:
- 8-10 chicken thighs, boneless/skinless
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sake
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water, ice cold
- oil for frying
Directions:
- Slice any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 1 or 2 inches.
- In a large mixing bowl or ziploc bag, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
- Add chicken thighs to the marinade, cover/seal, and store in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
- When your chicken is finished marinating, fill a deep pan or pot with enough oil to deep fry (I used an entire 32oz bottle of vegetable oil). Heat to 350F.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine eggs, flour, and ice cold water. (NOTE: Tempura only works if it stays super cold. You can either submerge the bowl of batter in an ice bath or let it sit in the fridge/freezer for a few minutes when it starts getting too warm during the cooking process. I recommend the ice bath method–running back and forth while you’re trying to fry chicken can be stressful.)
- Coat a piece of chicken in the batter and gently drop it into the hot oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a tray lined with paper towels.
- Repeat until all chicken has been fried once.
- By the time you have fried all of your chicken, the first piece you deep fried should be cooled down significantly. Repeat step 6 going in order from the first chicken you fried to the most recent to ensure that you are not double-frying extremely hot chicken.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
This recipe keeps alright overnight and reheats well enough in the microwave, although it was a little dry the next day. It’s best eaten the night you make it!
Twice-Fried Tempura Chicken Bites
Ingredients
- 8-10 chicken thighs boneless/skinless
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sake
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water ice cold
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Slice any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 1 or 2 inches.
- In a large mixing bowl or ziploc bag, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
- Add chicken thighs to the marinade, cover/seal, and store in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
- When your chicken is finished marinating, fill a deep pan or pot with enough oil to deep fry (I used an entire 32oz bottle of vegetable oil). Heat to 350F.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine eggs, flour, and ice cold water.*
- Coat a piece of chicken in the batter and gently drop it into the hot oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a tray lined with paper towels.
- Repeat until all chicken has been fried once.
- By the time you have fried all of your chicken, the first piece you deep fried should be cooled down significantly. Repeat step 6 going in order from the first chicken you fried to the most recent to ensure that you are not double-frying extremely hot chicken.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
Notes
- * Tempura only works if it stays super cold. You can either submerge the bowl of batter in an ice bath or let it sit in the fridge/freezer for a few minutes when it starts getting too warm during the cooking process. I recommend the ice bath method–running back and forth while you’re trying to fry chicken can be stressful.
