Skip to main content

Food Week - A classic Japanese appetizer for you to enjoy

 Edited BY


G P Kennedy


Karaage by Ian and Minako

 

“What’s this? Japanese fried chicken! I thought these guys were vegan!” we hear you say.

Don't worry; this is the soy meat version.

 

 Karaage actually means something that's coated in flour and deep-fried.

Chicken is by far the most popular karaage but it could be any meat or even fish. It's a fast food that you’ll find everywhere in Japan at home, in lunch boxes, in restaurants, bars, convenient stores and festival stalls.



 The “meat” is marinated and lightly coated in flour or potato starch before deep-frying in oil. It's common to use the twice-fry method to make it extra crispy on the outside but we don't normally bother. It's typically served on a bed of shredded cabbage or salad along with with rice.

 

 We always make enough to use on a second day, it's great in a sweet and sour sauce or stir-fry.

 

Ingredients

For about 20 bite size pieces

Dried soy meat chunks

 

For marinade:

50 ml soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated garlic

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1-teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon marmite (Note: this is our (optional) secret non-Japanese ingredient, don't tell anyone)

 

Plain flour, rice flour or potato starch

Oil for frying

 

Method

Re-hydrate the dry soy meat pieces according to product instructions.

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Squeeze excess water from the soy chunks and put into the marinade and leave for 30-60 minutes ensuring the meat is well saturated.

Heat enough oil for deep-frying to 180 deg C.

Squeeze the soy pieces, you want enough of the marinade to keep the flavour and moistness but not too wet.

Lightly coat the pieces with flour and drop carefully into the oil.

This is best done in batches as too many pieces lower the oil temperature. We normally do 2 batches of ten but soy chunks can be quite small.

Fry until they look ‘done’, getting crispy and darker.

(For twice-fry method, fry at 160 deg for a while, then take out, rest for 5 minutes then re-fry at 200 deg.)

Drain well and serve up.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A hearty entrée from Karachi

 Edited BY G P Kennedy Qeema Matar by Tassy  It's food week, so I am very happy to share a recipe of one of my go-to comfort foods. It is hearty, wholesome, and hugely satisfying. Not surprisingly, one of my favorite foods to cook while we live in uncertain times.    The dish is called Qeema Matar in Urdu, roughly translated to mince with peas. It is a rich and aromatic dish that is cooked with a lot of spices. The dish originated at the time the Mughal dynasty of Turkic and Mongol origin ruled the vast Indian subcontinent from the 16th to mid 18th century. On average we have Qeema Matar at least once a week, usually with a "chapatti", flat bread made with unleavened wheat flour.    It is pretty much a staple dish for us and also for a vast majority of Pakistanis. The dish is so popular that it is often prepared even as a festive dish on special occasions or at weddings. When I first learnt how to cook, this was probably one of the first recipes I wanted to...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Turkish dessert for all to enjoy

Edited BY G P Kennedy            AŞURE, NOAH ’s ARK TO SHARE                                 from Gul   This month you see an odd food traffic around, a dessert swapped continuously between neighbors. It’s called aşure (pronounced as aah-shoor-ey) ,   or Noah’s Pudding in English. Every year, Turkish women compete each other to create the best aşure while I wait fo r my neighbors whose names I don’t even know to bring one to me .    Luckily, our summer neighbors are more generous than the winter ones. I have already received three different aşure so far. The other day one of our neighbors dropped a tray in his hand as he was walking 20 bowls on it. Luckily my share was in his wife’s hand. Yummy...   ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE  Aşure means one for all and all for one. It’s cooked in appreciation to God and the celebration of diversity and equal...
Post a Comment
Read more

The finest coffee from the caffeine capital of the world

Edited BY G P Kennedy Coffee by Ellie    If you have been following these stories for a while, dear reader, you already know that I have mentioned coffee in several of my coronavirus reports. That is because coffee  is not just an important drink or ritual in Italy but an essential item, too. A marker of life, social standing and measure of sophistication even.    Since coffee shops were closed during the lockdown, coffee was necessary sustenance that often went unfulfilled. Since we didn't make coffee at home (long story), we resorted to tea. And you might remember that once the prohibition was lifted, coffee shop bonanza opened and we could flock to the so called "bars" (that is, coffee shops), we were utterly disappointed to discover that coffee was now served in reusable cups. Blame it on the prohibition to stay inside. Luckily, it was only temporary.    So, the irony is, once the clouds of the lockdown were lifted, we actu...
Post a Comment
Read more