Wagamama Tori Kara age Recipe from Wagamama, the famous Japanese restaurant UK, is known for its delicious chicken kara-age. Tori Karaage is a Japanese-style fried chicken dish where pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast are coated in flour then deep-fried until golden brown and crunchy. The breaded chicken can be eaten as an appetizer or snack and other dinner recipes. It is safe to say that Wagamama Tori Karaage is the Japanese version of KFC Fried Chicken.
Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique in which chicken, but also other meat such as duck and fish—are deep fried in oil. The process involves lightly coating small pieces of the meat or fish with a combination of home made flour and potato starch or corn starch, and frying in a vegetable oil. The foods are marinated prior to coating. Karaage is often served alone or with rice and shredded cabbage.
Jump to RecipeThe recipe for their chicken kara-age is simple and easy to follow, and it is delicious as well. The ingredients needed for the Wagamama Tori Kara age Recipe are relatively easy to find. The Tori kara-age recipe is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. The recipe yields 4-6 servings, making it ideal for a small family or a dinner party appetizer.
This Tori Karaage Chicken is best served with tomato sauce or garlic mayonnaise. You can serve this fried chicken as a standalone dish, but I love eating this alongside my favourite rice dishes like the Wagamama Prawn Ramen Recipe or Udon noodles. You can also do this for lunchtime sandwiches by adding lettuce leaves, mayonnaise, and pickled ginger. Also, the homemade version of Wagamama Tori Kara age Recipe is healthy because it has no added extra sugar or double-fried oil in the recipe. So you are getting a more nutritious option at home than your usual fast-food chain!
You can check another famous Wagamama dish, Wagamama Ginger Chicken Udon Recipe here.
Before starting with the Wagamama Tori Kara age Recipe, the essential step is to source all the ingredients. All you need are a few essential kitchen tools like a sharp knife, chopping board, vegetable peeler, etc. You can buy them from any supermarket or local store that sells Asian food items and spices.
While sourcing the chicken meat, it is crucial to buy tender meat and not the country chicken to get the best crispy experience. Country chicken is not suitable for this recipe because the meat is more rigid when compared to other types of chicken meat. Hence I would suggest buying boneless thighs of organic grass-fed broiler chicken for this Wagamama tori kara-age recipe. If you buy the chicken directly from the store, using a sharp knife, remove the thigh bones from the meat because kara-age is all about boneless chicken thigh meat.
Wagamama Tori Kara Age Recipe Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for coating the chicken
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 4 cups vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 6 large cloves garlic finely chopped
- 8 small spring onions sliced thinly
- 5 cm piece ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons dried chili flakes
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 500 gm cooked chicken thigh meat cut into bite-size pieces
- 300 ml water
- 250gms panko Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup corn starch
Step-by-Step Instructions on how to make Wagamama Tori Kara Age Recipe:
- The first step is to place the boneless chicken thighs in a medium-sized bowl. Take 2 cloves of garlic and grate them finely on the chicken. Once the chicken thighs are present in the bowl, add the grated ginger on top of the chicken. You can use pre-grated ginger or directly grate the ginger finely as sprinkles on top of the chicken.
- The first step is to place the boneless chicken thighs in a medium-sized bowl. Take 2 cloves of garlic and grate them finely on the chicken. Once the chicken thighs are present in the bowl, add the grated ginger on top of the chicken. You can use pre-grated ginger or directly grate the ginger finely as sprinkles on top of the chicken.
- Now add 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, salt, and pepper powder to the chicken. Next, add 4 teaspoons of soy sauce. This will help provide the authentic Asian flavor to the chicken.
- Now add 2 eggs to this mixture. Finally, add 1/2 cup of flour to ensure that it is well mixed with all other ingredients. Mix everything thoroughly until there are no lumps in the batter left.
- After mixing all the ingredients in the bowl using your hand, Use a teaspoon for mixing the chicken batter for the best experience. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes before proceeding further before keeping it in the refrigerator.
- After resting, the time has passed, place this mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This will help the marinade get absorbed better by the chicken.
- Meanwhile, the chicken is marinating in the fridge, Take 1 cup of corn starch and 1 teaspoon of water and mix well. Now add spoon by spoon of water while simultaneously integrating the corn starch.
- Once the corn starch is made into lumps of powder, add 250 grams of bread crumbs to the corn starch. After frying, the idea is to provide a crisp outer texture to the chicken.
- Then take out the chicken from the fridge after 20 minutes. Now carefully remove the chicken from the bowl using a pair of tweezers or fingers. Now carefully mix the marinated chicken with the flour-breadcrumb mixture. Make sure that you coat each side evenly. Then gently drop it back into the chicken flour batter again to avoid losing any excess coating on the surface. Now do this for all the pieces of chicken.
- The next step is to heat a bowl-shaped cast iron pan over medium flame. Once hot, pour some oil into the frying pan. If you are health-conscious, use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. We choose coconut oil here because it has no trans fat and contains lauric acid, which can help fight off bacteria in your body. So make sure that you buy organic virgin coconut oil for frying the chicken if possible.
- Once the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees F or 180 C, add corn starch-coated chicken pieces into the bowl-shaped pan containing the heated oil for frying. Fry each side until golden brown appears on the surface of the chicken. Now turn over the chicken to the other side for even frying.
- Once the second side turns golden brown, remove from heat and drain excess oil using a paper towel. Again, fry the chicken in the oil for 2 minutes before serving for a super crispy chicken.
- Finely chop the cabbage into long thin pieces for the presentation and place them on a porcelain plate. Now chop 2 slices of lemon and place them alongside the cabbage. Now place 2 to 3 pieces of chicken on the plate before serving.
Health Facts and Calories in Wagamama Tori Kara-age:
There are 440 calories in 1 serving of Wagamama Tori karaage. The carbohydrate content in tori karaage is 7.1 grams. The protein content in tori karaage is 35 grams. The fat content in tori karaage is 26.2 grams. The fibre content is 3.1 grams. (Source)
3 Easy Tips while cooking Wagamama Tori Kara Age Recipe:
- The first tip while making this dish is to source all the ingredients needed for this recipe and have them available at your disposal before starting the cooking process.
- The second tip is to fry the chicken using the right equipments. Try using one pan if possible. The frying process helps provide the meat with a crispy outer texture while having a slice of soft meat.
- The third tip while preparing this recipe is not to over fry the chicken because the chicken lose their crunchy texture when overcooked.
In conclusion, the Wagamama Tori Kara age recipe is a great way to make a quick and easy dinner that the whole family will love. The dish is flavorful and crispy, and it’s sure to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Plus, it only requires a few simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen. So why not give it a try tonight?
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Wagamama Tori Kara Age Recipe
Equipment
- 1 steel pan
- 1 steel fork
