Chicken karaage sandwiches

We make these sandwiches for birthday parties or larger gatherings and they are so popular they disappear in a flash.

In Japan, unused sandwich crusts are often made into sweet rusks by frying them in the hot oil (before the chicken, to avoid any chance of mixing flavours), then tossing them in cinnamon sugar. This is how my husband, Nori, remembers it from his childhood. The chicken recipe below can be used to make karaage on its own — simply cut the chicken into smaller pieces before marinating and then proceed as usual. Serve on rice or by itself with a good dollop of Kewpie for dipping.

Serves 4

500g chicken thigh fillets, halved

200g white cabbage, finely shredded 2 spring onions, finely sliced

2 Tbsp extravirgin olive oil juice of lemon sea salt and black pepper vegetable oil, for deepfrying potato starch, for coating hot English or Japanese mustard, for

spreading

8 slices of shokupan (see note) or white

bread, crusts removed

100g Kewpie mayonnaise

Karaage marinade

2 garlic cloves, grated

1cm piece of ginger, grated 1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp mirin

3 Tbsp sake

1 tsp brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp potato starch

Method

Using a fork, poke holes in the chicken to better allow the marinade to soak in. Place the

chicken in a shallow container so it fits snugly. Whisk the marinade ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Use your hands to turn the chicken in the marinade so it’s well coated. Cover and set aside in the fridge to marinate for 3060 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the cabbage, spring onion, olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl, season well and set aside.

Pour the vegetable oil into a heavybased saucepan or wok to a depth of 5cm. Heat the oil to 170degC, or hot enough that a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in 20 seconds.

Shake the excess marinade from the chicken, then toss the chicken in potato starch to coat. Fry, in batches, for 4 minutes or until cooked through and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack.

Spread a thin layer of mustard on four of the bread slices and a generous layer of mayo on the others. Place a piece of chicken on the mustard, top with some slaw, then sandwich with the remaining slices of bread. Cut each sandwich in half and serve.

Note: Here, I’ve used the traditional Japanese milk bread called shokupan, which is incredibly fluffy. Regular white bread is fine, too.