Pepper-Lemon Chicken Karaage: Wheat, Gluten and Soy-Free

This is a twist on classic Japanese chicken karaage, made without any soy sauce, flour or sake. The chicken is marinated in chicken stock to add umami. Marinating time not included in prep If you use white meat instead of dark, cook it for a bit less time or the chicken will dry out. You can marinate a pound or more (or around 500g) of cut up chicken in this marinade. To marinate more, just increase the amount of marinade. from the blog Just hungry

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 10  ounces  boneless chicken thigh  meat (300g) or 10  ounces  breast  meat (300g)
• 1 1⁄2 cups rich chicken broth (about 350 ml, homemade preferred otherwise Swanson’s low sodium)
• 1 -2  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt (see notes)
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup potato starch (katakuriko 125 ml or so) or 1⁄2 cup cornstarch (enough to coat the chicken)
•  oil (for deep frying)
•  sansho pepper (or shichimi tohgarashi, instead of black pepper )

Directions

1. Cut up the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. You can take off the skin if you like, though it does make the chicken crispier. You can also use breast meat instead.
2. Combine the chicken stock, lemon juice, and grated lemon zest in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Taste - it should be fairly salty but not overwhelmingly so. Add a bit more salt if needed.
3. Put the chicken pieces in the bowl. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes - an hour is ideal. If marinating for more than an hour (say, overnight), do not put salt in the marinade.
4. When you're ready to fry the chicken, take it out of the marinade and pat it dry. If you didn't add salt to the marinade, salt the chicken now and rub it inches Leave for a few minutes, and pat dry again. Grind a ton of black pepper on the chicken (it can stand a lot) .
5. Heat the oil; if using a temperature-controlled fryer or a thermometer, aim for 160°C / 355°F, a fairly low temperature. Toss enough potato or cornstarch into the marinated chicken so that each piece is completely coated. Fry the chicken pieces a few at a time at 160°C / 320°F until cooked through. The chicken will still be quite pale.
6. Take the chicken out of the oil, and drain off while you raise the temperature of the oil to 180°C / 355°F. When the oil is hot, re-add the chicken pieces and cook until a light golden brown - about 30 seconds to a minute. It won't get as dark in color as the soy-sauce marinated version. Don't overcook or the chicken will dry out.
7. Drain well on a rack, or old newspaper lined on top with paper towels.
8. Serve with lemon wedges, and even more pepper if you like.