Mochiko Chicken Recipe - Japanese Fried Chicken (2024)

FAQs

What is best flour or starch for fried chicken? ›

I got the best results when using a 50-50 blend of potato starch and wheat flour by weight. The wheat flour facilitates browning, while the potato starch provides structure, cohesion, and that all important crunch factor.

It's also used in Korean confections, Filipino bibingka-style desserts, and Chinese dim sum dumplings. In Hawaiian cuisine, it's used as a coating for mochiko chicken, butter mochi, chichi dango, and cakes. Outside of Asian cuisine, it's also a neutral thickener agent and coating for fried foods.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

The secret to succulent fried chicken starts with a marinade or brine, which keeps the chicken at its peak juiciness. Fried chicken traditionalists generally choose a buttermilk marinade while others swear by a brine, which is a mixture of sugar, salt and sometimes spices dissolved into water.

Rice flour and cornstarch work particularly well because they fry up crispier than wheat flour. They also absorb less moisture and fat during the frying process, making the products less greasy. This is why rice flour is often used when making tempura because it produces a very thin and crispy, dry crust.

You can use 100% mochiko to replace all-purpose flour or cornstarch when breading fried foods or preparing a roux; it doesn't have a starchy mouthfeel so it's a wonderful ingredient regardless of your dietary considerations.

Because of its naturally sweet taste, it's often in dessert recipes. It is similar in appearance to standard white flour, as it's typically finely ground. Since it's naturally gluten-free, many people with gluten sensitivities and allergies use this as a wheat flour substitute.

Mochi is traditionally made with glutinous rice flour, which is also known as sweet rice flour or mochiko. This type of flour has a higher starch content than regular rice flour, which gives mochi its characteristic chewy texture.

When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color! (It has to do with prevention of gluten development.) The baking powder reacts with the oil and creates tiny air bubbles, which also helps form a crispy coating.

Can you dip chicken in cornstarch instead of flour? ›

Both flour and cornstarch are used to coat chicken, fish, and vegetables before deep-frying. Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating.

Fry the Chicken

Pour the oil in a skillet and bring it to high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, then reduce the heat, cover the skillet, and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove the cover, return the heat to high, and fry until extra crispy. Drain the chicken on paper towels.

Two things set Korean fried chicken apart from American fried chicken: the double-frying process and the sauce. The chicken is usually seasoned with spices, sugar and salt, prior to and after being fried.

The key to the best Korean fried chicken, according to Taste Asian Food, is to marinate it for at least two hours with salt, ground black pepper and ginger juice. To fry the chicken, first coat it with potato or corn starch and baking powder before frying.

Using cornstarch to fry foods will get you the golden color and extreme crunchiness. This is because cornstarch is almost completely starch whereas flour has a lower starch content because it also has gluten. Some recipes might even use only cornstarch to ensure the food gets ultimate crisp status.

Cornstarch substitutes for pan frying and deep frying:

If you don't have cornstarch, you can substitute all-purpose flour in favor for a more routine breading and frying procedure. You can also use rice flour or potato flour, which are commonly used for tempura, and this will create a similar lacy, crunchy texture.

Using cornstarch to fry foods will get you the golden color and extreme crunchiness. This is because cornstarch is almost completely starch whereas flour has a lower starch content because it also has gluten. Some recipes might even use only cornstarch to ensure the food gets ultimate crisp status.

Coat the Marinated Chicken In Potato Starch

Potato starch (Katakuriko) is the key to great Japanese Fried Chicken! The potato starch gives the chicken a deliciously light crust vs. cornstarch or flour.