Japanese Fried Chicken Is Better Than Yours

Tori kara-age on the left. Photo credit: MIXA / Getty Images

Gabe Rosen, owner of Portland, Oregon’s Japanese restaurant Biwa, will open a ramen joint called Noraneko in December. Well, it will serve ramen and fried chicken. Because all of his restaurants should have fried chicken.

"Fried chicken is widely enjoyed in Japan," he told us. "It’s in bento boxes, it’s at izakaya, and it’s eaten as a street snack in a bag. Like in New York City, where you can get a slice of pizza from a window, that’s fried chicken in Japan.”

Rosen serves tori kara-age (“tori” means chicken; “kara-age” means fried) as an appetizer at Biwa, and at Noraneko, he’ll serve it on the side. In Japan, “you can frequently get it as a side dish in a ramen shop,” he said. “Common side dishes are gyoza, fried chicken, and fried rice.” (It’s worth pointing out that while we associate ramen and tori kara-age with Japan, they’re both originally Chinese dishes. “All this stuff became popular in Japan in the immediate post-World War II period because none of it requires particularly expensive ingredients.”)

"The best tori kara-age requires two bites,” Rosen said. “You bite it in half and then eat other half.” His recipe involves boneless chicken marinated in ginger, sake, soy sauce, garlic, and onion and then dusted in flour or starch. “It’s not a heavy crust.” Finally, it’s deep-fried over relatively low heat to cook the chicken through without getting the skin too dark.

Eat it immediately, with a beer, or… not. “I like cold fried foods in general,” said Rosen. “I like the texture that the fats take on, plus the seasonings come through cleaner in cold foods.” 

Tori Kara-Age
by Gabe Rosen
Serves 4

1 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
¼ cup finely sliced green onion, white and light green parts only
3 oz. sake 
2 oz. soy sauce 
1 oz. mirin rice wine
4 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs, quartered
Vegetable oil, for frying
Kosher salt
1 cup potato starch
½ cup wheat flour

In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Add the chicken, tossing to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, pour vegetable oil into a large pot; it should be about 2” deep. Heat oil to 325 degrees.

In another big bowl, combine a generous pinch of salt with the potato starch and wheat flour. Drain the marinade from the chicken and then dredge the meat in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.

Fry the chicken until golden brown on the exterior and just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and salt immediately. Plate and serve with lemon wedges.

If you’re in Portland for Feast this weekend, check out Bunk and Biwa!