Travel the world from your kitchen
with holidays on pause, swap your passport for a cookbook and transport yourself with these delicious recipes
TOKYO CALLING!
Picture yourself in one of the Japanese capital’s atmospheric izakaya bars with this succulent chicken dish. Serve with a chilled Asahi beer or sake.
KARA’AGE CHICKEN WITH YUZU SOY DIPPING SAUCE & SPICY CHILLI MAYO
Serves 4-6
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
4cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
125g cornflour or rice flour Vegetable oil
For the soy yuzu dipping sauce: 2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp yuzu juice or 1 tbsp each of lime and grapefruit juice
1 tbsp caster sugar
For the creamy spicy sauce: 125g Japanese Kewpie or other mayonnaise
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sriracha or gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
1 Put the chicken in a bowl with the ginger, garlic, soy sauce and mirin. Combine, then cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 1 hour – the longer the better).
2 Make the sauces. Combine the ingredients for each in small serving bowls and set aside.
3 Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, Gas mark 7). Drain the chicken and pat dry. Dust with cornflour and shake off the excess. Heat two large frying pans over a medium-high heat and add vegetable oil to 5mm deep in each. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken and cook without turning for 2-3 minutes, until well browned. Turn and cook on the other side, then transfer to a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes. Serve the hot crisp chicken with the sauces and steamed greens. The chicken can be marinated and the sauces prepared the night before, then covered and refrigerated. Dust with the cornflour and fry just before serving.