Salt Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken with Salt Marinade)
鶏の塩唐揚げ · Tori no Shio Karaage
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Shio karaage is the lighter cousin of the classic soy-sauce karaage most people know. The chicken is marinated in salt, a little garlic and ginger, sake and a touch of sesame oil, then coated in potato starch and fried until crisp. Because there is no soy sauce, the flavor is clean and gentle, and the pieces come out a paler golden color - kids still reach for them just as eagerly. A salt marinade soaks into the meat more slowly than a soy-based one, so let the chicken rest in it for a while before frying.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 75 gchicken thigh
Seasonings
- 0.3 gsalt
- 0.3 ggarlic paste (tube)Grated garlic sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh garlic for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated garlic in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 0.3 gginger paste (tube)Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 1.5 gsakeSake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- to tastepepper
- 0.8 gsesame oil
- 8.4 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 9 gvegetable oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- garlic paste (tube) (にんにくチューブ)
- Grated garlic sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh garlic for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated garlic in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- ginger paste (tube) (しょうがチューブ)
- Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- sake (酒)
- Sake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Cut the chicken into pieces of about 20 g each.
- 2
Combine the salt, garlic paste, ginger paste, sake, pepper and sesame oil, add the chicken and rub the marinade in well. (A salt marinade soaks into the meat less readily than a soy-sauce one, so let the chicken sit in it for a while before frying.)
- 3
Coat the pieces one by one in potato starch and deep-fry in oil at 170°C (340°F). (If the coating comes out sticky, the oil temperature has dropped - turn up the heat at the end and the chicken will fry up crisp.)
This version comes out a little paler in color than soy-sauce karaage.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 258 kcal | 516 kcal | 258 kcal |
| Protein | 12.5 g | 24.9 g | 12.5 g |
| Fat | 20.4 g | 40.8 g | 20.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7.1 g | 14.1 g | 7.1 g |
| Fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 6 mg | 12 mg | 6 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Potassium | 222 mg | 444 mg | 222 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 258 kcal | 12.5 g | 20.4 g | 7.1 g | 0 g | 0.5 g | 6 mg | 0.5 mg | 222 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 516 kcal | 24.9 g | 40.8 g | 14.1 g | 0 g | 0.9 g | 12 mg | 0.9 mg | 444 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
