Garlic Miso Chicken Karaage

hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to the Bay Area restaurant scene with a shot at a local legend the Bay Area, which is the garlic miso chicken karaage from Aburaya, in Oakland, CA. Those local to the area will know that there are a handful of popular fried chicken spots that have popped up in the neighborhood more recently. By far one of my favorites though is Aburaya’s take on a classic Japanese chicken karaage, which features a dry seasoning of garlic and miso powder, as well as a side of herb aioli which we’ll do our very best to try and recreate today. For those unfamiliar, a chicken karaage classically features a potato starch breading and  chicken thigh to create its unique “craggily” and crunchy breading which is absolutely iconic to this dish.

Most typically you will see chicken karaage done in a popcorn chicken-styled serving with large diced pieces of chicken (making it great as an appetizer for snacking), some may recall that we did a more traditional popcorn chicken karaage a few weeks back. For me though, what really stands out in this particular chicken karaage is the use of these dried seasonings, in particular our miso and dashi powders. Timing is gonna be really key with these dry seasonings, not only because it’s gonna be a big part of how we get them to stick to the chicken, but also as the chicken cools, they will start to rehydrate, turning into a wonderfully thick, almost glaze-like texture, which is really some kind of voodoo magic. Hope you try it.