‘Kara-age-Ko’ is a Japanese seasoned flour that is used for, most commonly, fried chicken in Japan. ‘Kara-age Chicken’ can be made in many different ways, but my mother used a store-bought ‘Kara-age-Ko’ when she cooked fried chicken. It is the quickest and easiest way. She used it for frying other food as well, such as Shiitake Mushrooms and Vegetables. I don’t buy ‘Kara-age-Ko’ because it is easy to make.
How to use it? It is simple. Just lightly coat pieces of Chicken, Meat, Seafood, Mushrooms or Vegetables with this seasoned flour, and fry in the oil. Here are two suggestions to use it, ‘Fried Squid’ and ‘Fried Shimeji’.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Plain Flour
2 tablespoons Potato Starch Flour
1 teaspoon Asian Chicken Bouillon Powder / Chicken Stock Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Salt *1 teaspoon is quite salty
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons Spices of your choice *Ground Chilli, Ground Paprika, Ground Ginger, Onion Powder, Chinese Five Spice, Allspice, Dry Mustard, Dried Herbs (Thyme, Basil, Oregano), etc.
Method
- To make the seasoned flour, combine all ingredients. *Note: Today I added 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger, 1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice and 1/4 tsp Ground Chilli.
- ‘Fried Squid’
Clean a Squid, slice the body into 7 to 8mm rings, and cut large tentacles into smaller pieces. Coat squid rings and tentacles with the seasoned flour thoroughly. Shake off any excess flour. Working in batches, deep-fry until golden and crispy. It won’t take long. Drain on paper towel. Serve immediately.
- ‘Fried Shimeji’
Trim the bottom of Shimeji and tear into smaller pieces. Coat with the seasoned flour thoroughly. Shake off any excess flour. Working in batches, deep-fry until golden. It won’t take long. Drain on paper towel. Serve immediately.
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