Crispy, juicy fried chicken served on a bed of tender rice, this Karaage Rice Bowl will be an instant hit with your family! The chicken is marinated in a Chinese seasoning of soy sauce, ginger, sweet bean sauce, and sesame oil before frying to golden and coated with a savory scrumptious sauce.
30 min
Serves
3
Medium
Japanese
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (roughly 1 lb, 454 g; or 4 chicken thighs) 1 454 4
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1/3 cup potato starch or cornstarch
- 3 cups (720ml) neutral oil (for deep frying)
- 3 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1 2/3 cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 1 Tbsp tianmianjiang (sweet bean sauce)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- la-yu (Japanese chili oil) (optional; you can make my Homemade La-yu)
- Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
- shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
- 2 green onions/scallions
Preparation
Not specified
Cooking
- Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients.
- For the steamed rice, please note that 2¼ cups (450 g, 3 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 6⅔ cups (990 g) of cooked white rice, enough for 3 donburi servings (5 cups, 750 g).
- See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot on the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
- Butterfly and cut 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half.
- I also separate out the chicken tenders.
- Pound the chicken to equal thickness with a meat tenderizer or the back of a knife.
- Then cut into ½-inch-wide strips.
- Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl.
- Mince or crush 2 cloves garlic and add to the bowl.
- Add 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice).
- Add the rest of the ingredients for seasonings: 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp tianmianjiang (sweet bean sauce), 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 large egg yolk, ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Mix and coat the chicken well with the marinade.
- Keep in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.
- Combine ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) and ⅓ cup potato starch or cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk well together.
- Heat 3 cups (720ml) neutral oil to 325–340ºF (163–171ºC) on medium heat in a saucepan or wok.
- 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!.
- Coat a piece of chicken in the flour mixture and dust off the excess flour.
- Place 5 chicken pieces slowly into the oil in the wok.
- Do not crowd the wok.
- 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.
- 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.
- For garnish, cut 2 green onions/scallions into small pieces.
- To make the sauce, combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce, ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and the optional la-yu (Japanese chili oil) in a small bowl.
- Serve 3 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice in individual large donburi bowls and place the chicken on top.
- Drizzle the sauce and Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise on top.
- Garnish with shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) and the chopped green onions.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!.
Plating & Serving
Not specified
Suggested Sides
Recipe Details