Thai Chicken Kara Age Food

JAPANESE CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN - KARA-AGE

Steps:

• Cut chicken in bite size pieces. In a plastic container or large ziploc bag, combine grated ginger, garlic, soy sauce and Sake.
• Put the chicken in the marinade and mix chicken well. Put the chicken in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a deep frying pan or a wok, heat vegetable oil to 180 degree Celsius or 350°F
• Dust the chicken with potato starch and fry in the oil until golden. To make them really crispy, lift chicken from the oil with chopsticks or tongs from time to time so that the chicken will be aired out (so to speak).

THAI CHICKEN KARA-AGE

Steps:

• For the brined chicken:
• Place the sugar, vinegar and fish sauce in bowl with 1 cup water. Whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and Thai chiles to the mixture and whisk until both are well dispersed throughout the liquid.
• Place the chicken in a bowl. Whisk the brine to redistribute the garlic and chiles evenly in the brine. Ladle the brine over the chicken and toss. Cover the bowl with plastic film and marinate for at least 8 hours and up to 2 days before use.
• For the chicken sauce:
• Combine 1 cup water, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce in a bowl. Whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and Thai chiles to the mixture and whisk until well dispersed. Add the Thai chile sauce and whisk to combine.
• Preheat oil in a deep pot or in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the brine and transfer to a bowl (be sure to wear gloves while handling raw chicken). Add the cornstarch and toss the chicken until well coated. Place the chicken in a sieve set in an empty metal bowl and shake the chicken until excess cornstarch falls into the bowl underneath.
• Place the chicken into a fryer basket and drop into the oil. Fry the chicken until crispy and golden brown. Make sure to shake the basket so that the pieces cook evenly. Separate using tongs if needed to prevent sticking.
• While the chicken is frying, combine the jalapenos and onions in a metal bowl.
• When the chicken is done frying, drain excess oil on paper towels and let rest. Transfer to the bowl with the vegetables and season with the salt. Pour 1/4 cup of the chicken sauce over and toss until evenly coated. The chicken and vegetables should have a nice sheen, but the chicken should still be very crisp.
• Serve the chicken piping hot. Mix together the cilantro, basil and mint, and garnish the chicken with the herbs.

THAI CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Peel shallots or onion and cut in half from top to root. Lay the cut sides flat on a board and thinly slice. Very finely slice the lemongrass, starting at the thinner end, stopping towards the base when it gets tough (often described as 'woody' and white in the centre).
• Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan for a couple of minutes until the oil separates (it looks more liquid at this point). Add the shallots or onion. Fry for 3-5 mins, until soft and translucent. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 min, stirring all the time.
• Add chicken pieces and stir until they are coated. Add the lemongrass, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves and coconut milk. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 mins until the chicken is cooked. Stir the curry a few times while it cooks, to stop it sticking and to keep the chicken submerged.
• While the chicken is cooking, strip the leaves from the coriander stalks, gather into a pile and chop very roughly. Taste the curry and add a little more curry paste and salt if you think it needs it. Stir half the coriander into the curry and sprinkle the rest over the top. Serve with Thai jasmine or basmati rice.

KARAAGE (JAPANESE FRIED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sake, mirin, sesame oil, black pepper, cayenne, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Place chicken in the marinade and mix until thoroughly and evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 10 hours.
• Set up your dredging station: Place a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet. Add potato starch to a wide, shallow bowl.
• Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Stir to coat with marinade. Toss 2 or 3 pieces at a time in the potato starch until evenly coated. Shake off any excess starch and place chicken on the wire rack. Repeat to dredge remaining pieces.
• Tap the rack on the baking sheet to remove any loose chunks of starch, then transfer the baking sheet and rack of chicken to the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Without crowding, lower chicken carefully into the hot oil in batches. Fry, tossing occasionally, until cooked through and the outside is crunchy and browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining chicken.