These chicken karaage tacos (AKA Japanese fried chicken tacos) are here to spice up your taco game in the best way possible! Warm tortillas are loaded with crispy pieces of karaage chicken, tangy quick-pickled cucumbers, and a creamy kimchi mayo sauce. They're simple to make and come together in just under an hour!
Ingredients
Chicken Karaage
8boneless chicken thighs
½ cupsoy sauce, can be gluten-free and low-sodium
2cupscooking oil
¼cupcornstarch
124-inchtortillas
2cupsshredded cabbage
Sesame seeds, to serve
Quick Pickled Cucumbers
½ cuprice vinegar
1tablespoonsugar
1teaspoonsesame oil
½ teaspoonchili flakes
1pinch sea salt
3mini cucumbers, sliced
Kimchi Mayo
½ cupmayonnaise, can be light
½ cupkimchi
1pinchsea salt
Instructions
Cut the chicken thighs into 3-4 pieces each and put them into a large bowl. Pour the soy sauce over top and mix the chicken. Put the bowl into your fridge for 30-60 minutes.
8 boneless chicken thighs, ½ cup soy sauce
To make the quick pickles, bring the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, chili flakes, and salt to a boil in a small pan. Place the cucumber slices into a heat-proof bowl and pour the hot vinegar over the top. Let the cucumbers sit in the pickling liquid for at least 20 minutes.
½ cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon chili flakes, 3 mini cucumbers, 1 pinch sea salt
To make the kimchi mayo, add the mayonnaise and kimchi to your blender and blend on medium speed until mostly smooth. Do not blend the mayonnaise at high speed as it can break and become watery. Season to taste with salt.
½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup kimchi, 1 pinch sea salt
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the soy sauce and use paper towels to dry any excess moisture. Add the cornstarch to the bowl and mix the chicken well. Add more, if needed, if the chicken still looks wet in places.
¼ cup cornstarch
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan with high sides. To test the oil temperature, dip one end of a piece of chicken into the oil. If it starts bubbling rapidly, it's ready. When the oil is ready, carefully add about ⅓ of the chicken to the pan. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes then turn the pieces over and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Remove the crispy chicken and put it on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath. Finish frying the rest of the chicken.
2 cups cooking oil
To assemble the tacos, pile some cabbage onto a tortilla then top with a few pieces of karaage chicken, some shredded cabbage, pickled cucumbers, kimchi mayo, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.