069 - KARAAGE - 唐揚げ

Hello everyone. Man, I feel bad for not giving you update what’s going on over the last 3 weeks since my last post. There were a lot of stuff going around during that time, but long story short, I wasn’t on the mood.

Yes, Mr. Moody is back.

It’s not that I don’t want to make a new post with new recipe on it, it’s just that; let me ask you a question first.

Have you ever wanted to show people something so bad, but stopped halfway through because you know it looked ugly as hell and you could do a lot better than that? 

Because that’s exactly what happened to me!

You see, I tested a few new recipes, but none of it made it. It’s just too tacky, ugly, simply said; ain’t good enough for you guys. But hey, failures breeds success.

So, here I am, proud to show you my take on Japanese deep fried chicken, also popularly known as KARAAGE.

Karaage, for me, is the perfect fried chicken. It’s even better than KFC, since with little ingredient, you can deliver even bigger flavor than Colonel’s!

Without further ado, let’s get going!

For 1 serving, you will need;

YES, THE SUGAR WAS MISSING, FORGOT TO PUT IT THERE

·         Chicken Thigh – 150 Grams – Cut into bite sized pieces

·         Cornstarch – 1 ½ Tbsp

·         All Purpose Flour – 1 ½ Tbsp

·         Egg – 1 piece – Beaten

·         Oil – Enough to cover the chicken during cooking

Seasonings

·         Soy Sauce – 1 Tbsp

·         Sake – 1 Tbsp (Optional for y’all Halal readers out there)

·         Garlic – 1 Tsp – Grated

·         Ginger – 1 Tsp – Grated

·         Sugar – 1 Tsp

·         Sesame Oil – 1 Tsp (Optional)

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Pat your chicken dry with kitchen towel if you haven’t done so. Transfer it into a bowl; add the soy sauce, sake, garlic, ginger, sugar, and sesame oil. Get dirty and use your hands, give it a nice massage you can ever do to a chicken. Once done, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, let sit in the fridge to marinade for 30 minutes.

Garlic goes in

..Ginger too

Then soy sauce says hi

Sake says hello

Sesame seed oil apologizes on behalf of sugar for not being there on time (YES, YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO PUT THE SUGAR RIGHT AFTER SESAME SEED OIL)

The greatest mix up of all time!

Step 2 – Take the chicken out of the fridge. Add the beaten egg, give it a nice mix. Add the flour, mix again. Add the cornstarch, and give it a final mix. Don’t mix too much, or else the dough will get a chewy finish later. Set aside.

Egg was lovely today

Eww, sticky!

Flour. Hmm..let's see what happens next

OH MY GOD STICKY.

Cornstarch. I got a bad feeling about this

OH MY GOD, LET ME HAND GOOOOOOO

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

..and there you are.

Step 3 – Heat the oil on medium heat. You can tell it’s hot when you drop a little bit of batter in and it floats right away. Anyway, cook your chicken in batches so you don’t f*ck up with the temperature too much. I’m cooking 3 pieces per batch. Fry for approximately 1-2 minutes depending on the size. Once it’s pale/almost light brown in color, take it out and let it rest. Cook the rest like you would the first time.

Soybean oil this time around. Higher smoke point madafaka!

YESS

Now, this is what you're aiming, done, but not quite there.

Whole batch of it!

Step 4 – Once the first frying is done, we are going to double fry these bad boys. Set the heat to high, and let the oil gets smoldering hot. Cook your chicken in batches (again), this time it’ll only take a mere 20-30 seconds. Once it’s crispy to touch and golden brown in color, welcome to heaven.

See the bubbles? Eat yourself, beer.

PERFECTION

See how double frying actually improves everything? The left side is single frying, right one is double fried.

Step 5 – Serve!

I personally like to add a sprinkle of salt over the Karaage right after it left the fryer. Karaage tend to have a light taste that is not overwhelming, that’s why some people will prefer to have more savory kick to it, hence, the salt.

Karaage is best serve with rice, like you would Japanese dish. However, possibilities are endless. I’ve seen Karaage served with French Fries, Mashed Potatoes, even sandwich between Burger Bun!

Give this recipe a try this weekend. It is very easy, and guaranteed to be loved by your family. Well, unless they hate fried food.

Cheers

xx

066 - Onsen Tamago!

Whenever I wake up in Japan, all I can think of is the delicious food I’m about to have for breakfast. and for lunch. and for dinner. and for supper. and this won't ever stop lol.

Just so happens that it just happened to me last week. Surprise people! I went AWOL to Japan lol.

Anyway, as usual, the food was great, the atmosphere was awesome (hate the torrential rain though, they’re nasty), and I got a lot of things I loved. What do I loved? You know, anime stuff, and…FOOD. Just look at THESE

Evangelion Sachiel Bun! - USJ Osaka

The filling of the above bun; PIZZA!

Takeaway bento from Shin-Osaka station and Starbucks Sakura Latte

The most famous Takoyaki at Dotombori - Osaka

Grilled Mackarel, Icefish tempura, pickles - Tokyo

Sweet potato, Tamagoyaki, Radish Salad, Kelp Salad - Tokyo

Hijiki Rice with Natto and Tororo - Tokyo

Anko Cat Taiyaki - Tokyo

The BEST Menchi Katsu ever! - Tokyo

Yakitori - Tokyo

Harajuku Crepes! - Tokyop

Japanese parfait - Tokyo

Breakfast - Osaka

Breakfast - Tokyo

Breakfast (again) - Tokyo

COFFEE JELLY OMG - Tokyo

Breakfast (AGAIN) - Tokyo

Tempura Udon - Tokyo

Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream - Tokyo

Dango! - Tokyo

Turkey Legs! - Tokyo

Grilled Crab Legs - Kyoto

Spicy Chicken Katsu Kare! - Tokyo

Hot Soba with Chikuwa Tempura - Tokyo

FRESHEST STRAWBERRY I EVER ATE - Tokyo

Hot Soba with Extra Rice and Fried ..(i forgot what it was) - Tokyo

Kitsune Soba! - Tokyo

Takeaway bento, 9 flavors - Osaka

Chicken Katsu Kare - Tokyo

Beef Bowl with Extra Onsen Eggs - Tokyo

Salty Vanila Ice Cream - Tokyo

Breakfast (AGAAINN) - Tokyo

Grilled Mochi - Kyoto

I was lucky to savor a lot of great food Japanese has to offer. Just so happens that a lot of that food was during breakfast time. You see, I was staying at Akihabara Washington Hotel, and they have an awesome array of Japanese food for breakfast. If you’re more of a continental breakfast kinda fella, you’re in for a bad time.

Back to the topic, so the hotel had all these eggs. They have regular, omelette, and, my favorite, soft boiled onsen style. Onsen is term used by the Japanese to refer to the Hot Springs. The water at an Onsen has always been a steady 60-70 degrees centigrade or so. Some genius came up with an idea to cook eggs with the Onsen water, and guess what? Culinary awesomeness was born.

Onsen Tamago (Tamago is Japanese for eggs, if you don’t know that already) is characterized by its silky whites and soft yolk. This is perfect for people who want to poach eggs without the hustle!

For 2 servings, you will need;

·         2 Eggs. Keep them refrigerated.

·         Water. Enough to keep the eggs submerged. and an extra 200 ml of Room Temperature Water

·         Ice. To be used later after cooking

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Fill a large pot with water, and set it to boil over the stove.

Step 2 – Once the water boils, take it off the heat, and add 200 ml of Room Temperature water, and put the Eggs in. Set the timer for 12 minutes PRECISELY. Cover, and let sit.

Step 3 – After 12 minutes had passed, transfer the eggs into ice water to cool for another 3 minutes.

Step 4 – SERVE!!

If THAT ain’t easy, then I don’t know what is! This is seriously one of the easiest egg recipe around! I love to enjoy this over a bowl of steaming hot rice, give it a dash of soy sauce, sprinkle some green onion, and BOOM. Orgasmic taste.

Ever wonder how the egg texture is like? Savor this

Give this a go, and let me know how it turns out!

Cheers

xx