If you were to take a peek into a Japanese bento box, there's a good chance that you'd find some Tori no karaage (deep fried chicken nuggets) tucked away inside. This is one of the most popular ways to eat chicken in Japan and it tastes equally good eaten straight out of the pan or after a couple of days sat in the fridge (in the unlikely event that there are any leftovers).
Purists will say that tori no karaage has to be deep fried but I think you can make a great tasting (and more healthy) version of this dish in a hot oven, which is what I do here. No frying odour, no hot oil - this method certainly has some advantages!
The way to a good tori no karaage is to make a good, tangy marinade and leave the chicken to steep in it for as long as you can - 30 mins in a pinch but ideally left for at least 2-3 hours - left overnight all the better. You can use all sorts of chicken parts for karaage - breast and wings but my personal favourite is thigh because the higher fat content in the thigh means more moisture is retained during cooking. If you want to try your hand at one of Japan's favourite chicken dishes, you can find my recipe just below. You can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Oven baked Karaage chicken nuggets or scroll to the bottom of the page.
Happy baking! Kurumi XXXX.
If you would like to try out the classic version, you can find the recipe here Tori no Karaage.
Oven baked Karaage Chicken nuggets
ingredients:
(makes 2 servings)
400g boneless chicken thigh
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
2.5 tbsp vegetable oil
a pinch of salt & pepper
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
70g potato flour
6 asparagus
1/2 lemon
a sheet of aluminium foil
how to:
cut the chicken into bite size pieces and marinade with the pinch of salt & pepper, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, 1.5tbsp of the vegetable oil in a bowl for 30 mins
cut off the bottom ends of the asparagus and halve
cover a baking try with aluminium foil and brush on 0.5tbsp of oil
coat the chicken with the potato flour and put it on the tray leave to stand for 15 mins until the flour is absorbed
heat the oven to 220’C, place the asparagus next to the chicken and sprinkle 0.5tbsp of oil over it
put the tray in the oven for 20mins
your oven baked chicken karaage is ready. garnish with the lemon and serve