Night Lantern Izakaya · Starters

Crispy Ginger-Soy Chicken Bites with Lemon Mayo

Name: Crispy Ginger-Soy Chicken Bites with Lemon Mayo
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 500 g Boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 2 tbsp Soy sauce; 1 tbsp Sake or dry sherry; 15 g Fresh ginger; 2 clove Garlic; 60 g Potato starch or cornstarch; 30 g All-purpose flour; 750 ml Neutral oil, for deep frying; 80 g Mayonnaise; 1 whole Lemon; 1 pinch Salt

Juicy chicken thigh pieces marinated in soy, ginger and garlic, coated in starch and fried until shatteringly crisp, in the style of izakaya karaage. Served hot with lemon wedges and a zesty lemon mayo.

50 minutes · Medium · 4 servings

Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested

Ingredients

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs500 g
Soy sauce2 tbsp
Sake or dry sherry1 tbsp
Fresh ginger15 g
Garlic2 clove
Potato starch or cornstarch60 g
All-purpose flour30 g
Neutral oil, for deep frying750 ml
Mayonnaise80 g
Lemon1 whole
Salt1 pinch

Quantities describe recipe usage, not package sizes.

Allergen notes

Wheat (flour, soy sauce), soy (soy sauce) and egg (mayonnaise).

Method

Marinate the chicken

Cut the chicken into 4 cm pieces. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, sake, finely grated ginger and grated garlic. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes (up to 2 hours). Wash your hands and board after handling the raw chicken.

Make the lemon mayo

Stir the mayonnaise with the finely grated zest of the lemon, 2 tsp lemon juice and the pinch of salt. Cut the rest of the lemon into wedges. Chill until needed.

Coat the pieces

Mix the starch and flour on a plate. Lift the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and roll each piece in the coating, pressing so it sticks. Lay the pieces on a rack while the oil heats, so the coating hydrates slightly.

Fry until safe

Heat the oil in a heavy, deep pot (no more than one-third full) to 170°C (340°F). Fry the chicken in 3 batches for 4–5 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and the largest piece reads at least 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer. Drain on a rack set over a tray, not the plate that held raw chicken. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches.

Serve hot

For an extra-crunchy shell, raise the oil to 190°C (375°F) and refry all the pieces together for 45 seconds. Pile onto a plate and serve straight away with the lemon mayo and lemon wedges.

Never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid nearby to smother any flare-up. Thighs stay juicy well past 74°C, so do not worry about overcooking them; breast meat dries out quickly here.

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