Chicken Kara-age (Feat. Binging with Babish) | Kenji's Cooking Show

[@stuartjackson1565]

Detailed recipe for those interested (Quoted from the book, p. 445): 1 pound (450g) boneless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs), trimmed of excess fat and cut into rough 1-inch chunks 1 tablespoon (8g) minced fresh ginger (about 1/2-inch segment) 1 tablespoon (15ml) light soy sauce or shoyu 1 tablespoon (15ml) sake 1/2 teaspoon (2g) kosher salt 1/3 cup (45g) potato starch or cornstarch 1/3 cup (45g) all-purpose flour 1 quart (1l) peanut, rice bran, or other neutral oil 1 lemon, cut into wedges The book is amazing, Kenji! Super approachable and full of great dishes!

[@Fresh4]

don't forget the fingernail. very important for this dish.

[@chez14]

@@Fresh4 It really adds some flavor, right?

[@Phoenix-jd4yf]

Which book is it?

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Hello there.

[@ohishwaddup]

General Kenobi

[@ivanamon7191]

A suprise to be sure but a welcome one!

[@eggmoe23]

Greetings

[@gizaspiller]

Hey there! 🤓

[@tiacho2893]

These are the YT cooks I've been looking for.

[@CptPatch]

Andrew being super nervous cooking around Kenji is adorable.

[@Striker0528]

How is it adorable he almost sliced off his finger? Stans need to chill out.

[@elith6930]

@@tubulartuber I mean, you don’t need to have good technique to make/teach good recipes.

[@theregiment6236]

@@tubulartuber I feel like that’s a bit excessive, while he’s clearly not a professional I don’t believe that should disqualify him from being a cooking resource. Sometimes having the perspective of someone else who is also still learning can be helpful to others who are learning as well

[@x_____________]

@@tubulartuber lmao what? Even professional chefs cut themselves from time to time. Stop being weird lmao

[@jogmesson]

@@tubulartuber TIL professional Cook never accidentally slice their finger.

[@mohiothman8170]

Andrew being a fanboy is exactly how I'd act if Kenji was in my kitchen!

[@buddhavskungfu]

I would chop off my hand

[@ag.cousins]

You called?

[@mohiothman8170]

@@ag.cousins Loved the crossover!

[@askmiller]

This was one of those moments where I've watched enough Kenji to recall the punchline to the joke as soon as he start looking for his cook book and before he actually started to make the joke.

[@paniccleo]

It's amazing how out of his comfort zone Andrew is in his own kitchen.

[@k03hl3r]

Standing next to someone like Kenji has to really put you in your place, lol. Keep in mind that Andrew is not a chef, and he considers himself a filmmaker more than anything. A professional chef will definitely put you on edge if that's your background while you're in the kitchen.

[@drinfernodds]

@@k03hl3r Andrew is like a street basketball player being on a court with an NBA player. The difference in experience and knowledge between Kenji and Andrew is immense.

[@jaredcrowley]

@@drinfernodds 👴🏻

[@drinfernodds]

@@jaredcrowley I'm in my mid 20s so the emoji makes no sense.

[@Striker0528]

Yeah because he's not a cook. He is following a recipe just like you or I could.

[@sourcedecay]

I've been making this since I visited Japan about three years ago and it's a household favorite. Figuring it out took a good amount of experimentation. I marinate in soy, mirin, garlic, and ginger, and use pure cornstarch for the dredge. Otherwise, exactly the same process and it turns out great every time. We always eat it as a rice bowl with aonori, paper thin cabbage, kewpie mayo, and a bit of tonkatsu sauce.

[@msjkramey]

Sounds amazing

[@dimasakbar7668]

Wow, you must've had nice palate to figure out recipe by experiment. Have you tried swapping the cornstarch with cornstarch obleck (plus a little egg white) ? Its a trick i take up from chinese / korean recipe if we kinda want the coating to be thicker

[@jamesm1034]

.,QSSDFGZSwxszzx6zsbv b@@dimasakbar7668 ikkklkjujjkk.l !cllcllsll A I Lll gdd

[@poopymcpoop9945]

Thanks dude, u will also be experimenting. Using this as my foundation friend

[@Bashfluff]

Would you be kind enough to list the proportions for the marinade?

[@danoconnell1833]

Kenji looking up his own recipe in his own cookbook is the perspective I needed right now.

[@HoneyBeeLiv]

I loved watching you guys move the same lemon wedge back and forth every time you adjusted the plating hahaha

[@Amocoru]

If this is the start of Kenji going full on Japanese food focused for a while then I am a very excited man.

[@meturns4666]

Hello Kenji , Firstly thanks , i've just discovered your channel and have binged several episodes. At 58 years old i've cooked both professionally and domestically in many roles , I really appreciate your attention to detail on have already cleared up many chemistry issues I didn't understand in my cooking . So again thankyou. Never stop learning is my moto and listen as even the most untrained person is full of knowledge; and knowledge is gold .. Love your style , attitude and clear approach to teaching us viewing the tricks and tips, along with awesome chemistry of food to boot , much appreciation and respect from Melbourne Australia 🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘 Cheers mate 👍🏻!!!

[@edwardmking]

“Kenji with Babish” is the greatest cooking duo since Julie and Jacques and it needs to be a regular thing.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Perfect comparison.

[@m.theresa1385]

I’ve watched a lot of Julia and Jacques and the show presented them both as experts though with different styles. The same isn’t quite true here, though both Kenji and Babish are a joy to watch (and I have learned from both.)

[@ccbowers]

I like to use garlic in addition to the ingredients used in the marinade. Also usually use potato starch instead of cornstarch flour. Sometimes also use crushed senbei to the coating if you want extra crunch. I also double fry, time permitting.

[@dimasakbar7668]

Can confirm. Ginger garlic in 1:1 combo is gold. It also the base for many Indian recipe, one of which is chicken 65, an Indian cousin of karaage. For starch onnwet marinade chicken, usually i use potato starch or rice flour + ap flour

[@DizzyBusy]

I also like potato starch with mine, gives it more of that sticky coating texture that I like

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Good idea. Everything is better with garlic.

[@ccbowers]

@@DizzyBusy Starches add more crispiness than flour when frying. Corn starch gives the crispiest coating, but is one-dimensional on its own, so is best to combine with flour. Potato starch has a nice craggly crispiness on its own. At least that is the way I think about it.

[@ffrjegs08]

the combination of production styles and camera shots in one video is so jarring yet satisfying

[@RudeCanine]

I love how scared I was that we’d be forced to watch only using babish’s camera and then the beautiful surprise that we get TWO GoPro perspectives

[@gfresh50]

oh man, i hope these colabs never end! there's a charm in them stumbling over their clear man crushes for each other and yet the food comes out perfect regardless!! what a couple of legends :)

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I want Kenji to never stop releasing books. Partly because they're amazing books, but mostly because I want an excuse for him to collab with Babish until the end of time.

[@maxwelldavis7076]

Two of my all-time favorite creators on KZbin! Making one of my favorite apps? I'm so lucky :)

[@kyokel]

With having Andrew in the video, it shows how fun this video format is.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Two head cameras are better than one!

[@WVRLORD]

These more unedited videos along with the newer ones on Andrews channel show how much of a nervous wreck he can be sometimes in the kitchen. In his older videos he came across so calm and collected but tbh seeing this side of him adds a lot more character and I’d think it’s makes his recipes more approachable to the majority of his audience it’s good to see him open up more with his content the past few years.

[@stephenolson5094]

I love how BWB is a pillar of the KZbin food/cooking community, but even in the presence of such an OG (Kenji), he's very obviously nervous!

[@The063091]

Haha Andrew sounds like a guy who’s nervous on a first date.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Pretty much, yeah.

[@jcbyo]

the collab i’ve always wanted, my two favorite cooking youtubers by far.

[@bemccune7671]

2 of my favorite KZbin chefs. This is a such a great team. 2 super nice guys making food together, it's absolutely delightful.

[@kitthazelton2309]

I made this tonight (improvised the marinde with shaoxing wine instead of sake, and lots of garlic), and it was the best, juciest fried chicken ever. Served it with a soy-lemon aioli. Thank you!!

[@MichaelHughes124]

Babish is nervous and that is adorable. Edit: I was smiling for pretty much this whole video. More collabs!

[@CookinWithSquirrl]

Great fun in this video! Poor Andrew seemed so nervous but he really shouldn't be. Can't wait for my wok to show up from The Wok Shop! There are so many recipes in the book I want to get into!

[@msjkramey]

I have your book The Food Lab. I've read it cover to cover and learned so much. It's more than a cookbook--there's so much good theory and tips. 10/10 best Christmas present ever

[@MrAqr2598]

Oh yeah, chicken _kara-age_ . You'll never get tired of it. 8:50~ BTW about Kenji saying that they're served as an _izakaya_ (casual japanese bar, kind of like a tavern) snack, whiskey-and-soda with _kara-age_ is one of, if not the most popular combos on an _izakaya_ joint menu.

[@WesEats]

Babish with a GoPro on his head is something I didn’t know I wanted to see, but I’m so happy now

[@ca8a]

KENJI the GOAT all day everyday

[@yanceywesterfield6855]

I like how he runs for a Guinness and doesn't stop when that's the only thing he has--a beer is a beer but that's quite a long way from a Kirin Ichiban or an Asahi you might otherwise expect!

[@jama211]

Look the wrong beer is better than no beer!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@jama211 A few sips in and you'll forget it's the wrong beer anyway.

[@briansullivan9110]

Asahi Super Dry for this dish!

[@timgehrsitz3267]

I absolutely love this video, you actually teaching someone how to make it and explaining it to them, especially a guy like Andrew who's fun on camera, is such a great way to learn the recipe. Though your videos have always been the best at that

[@claireless464]

Andrew being all flustered is actually super cute lmao

[@emredogan3368]

dude I had this literally the other day, so good and super customisable if you add like a little garlic or chili powder on top when theyre done frying. I noticed that the oil got suuuper cloudy pretty much as soon as you put the chicken in at 5:38, that never happens with other chicken recipes as fast, why is that? Really nice recipe btw!

[@sonfoku73]

I also have the same question as above.

[@luke5kr]

The loose flour in the oil?

[@HoneyBeeLiv]

I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that corn starch makes oil cloudier than flour does. So because most american fried chicken is much more flour than corn starch, or is entirely flour, it doesn't get as cloudy while frying, but it'll still probably settle and look a little less cloudy. Totally talking out of my ass right now though, I just feel like I've had that happen before.

[@sammoon7897]

I suspect it's because they didn't leave much time for the batter to set but it could also be the difference between using corn flour or just wheat flour

[@creatureofrabbit2036]

If you want a deeper, less pale color on your karaage, let the marinade soak out the batter before you fry. I do this and I think the crunch becomes more enduring as well.

[@nmtkawb]

In Japan, it is considered cardinal sin to squeeze a lemon on to the karaage without asking the people you are eating with. also FYI, Japanese mayo + Shichimi is also a popular alternative to lemon juice. fattier, but goes so nice with some dry beer.

[@MrAqr2598]

Definite agreement from a random Japanese guy.

[@tomtaylor9913]

Babish nervously cutting himself multiple times is so cute

[@Mike-ul1xn]

Kenji is the only big-time youtube chef left whose home kitchen is his actual kitchen and not some 6 million dollar studio home kitchen.

[@CharleneCTX]

Adam Ragusea uses his home kitchen.

[@Somerandom1922]

simple chicken Kara-age dishes are super common at cheap japanese places in Australia, just the chicken served on rice with a fresh salad in a little cardboard takeaway bowl thing. Awesome lunch for usually about $10-$15 (aus so like $7-$11 USD).

[@karmaheaven7]

The switch between the GoPros and the Babish setup is such a fun aesthetic clash

[@SawnyRath]

I can't believe, I've watched this before but Babsy: "yeah dude *pops lips*"

[@JM-tn8xx]

I would be so nervouse cooking with Kenji. Babish is holding himself together really well here 😂

[@TonyAus1983]

I love how Andrew seems so nervous around his idol :)

[@keikowatari9690]

I enjoy watching Kenji san does his mom's recipe. Hope she is still making those Japanese home style foods.

[@Swagg3r3d]

two of my favorite internet chefs collaborating both in cooking an video styles

[@bradleyfanguy5441]

The blend of production styles here is refreshing.

[@jokerlaughsfirst8776]

Dang. Andrew has like 8 million subs and has successfully made content creation around cooking a wildly successful career. He's so nervous around Kenji it's pretty endearing.

[@jmadd1000]

Watching you guys cook together is a lot of fun.

[@aidangillard2041]

Love you Kenji! Always so wholesome and bringing great recipes and practical tips

[@marksimpson2321]

Andrew and Kenji = even greater content .

[@mperor888]

1:04 did andrew call his own cookware cheap and horrible?

[@VoyagerCSL]

I've bought that exact knife from him twice, too. Not cool!

[@rachelshulman111]

Pretty sure he was being sarcastic lol

[@_dnk]

@@mperor888 it was sarcasm

[@dv4497]

That camera adjustment was very cute

[@Brickfilmer125]

It's so awesome to see different video styles crossing over with Babish.

[@laminesadoun]

The clutter of a studio environment makes me sooo anxious. The shooting style I’m used to with Kenji is soothing because in general his kitchen is organized and nice to work in.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

It also makes me anxious to see Babish's kitchen from a new angle. My brain does not accept that as the Babish angle; that is the Kenji angle.

[@Senrab3123]

Always fun seeing you two collaborate!

[@zizzie4081]

Why is Kenji doing a segment with Babish? Kenji is a kind, thoughtful, inclusive human being.

[@Neoxon619]

It's been a while since we last saw anything close to this angle for the BCU set.

[@graefx]

Theres a right of passage in the kitchen of slicing the top of your finger off. I've done at least twice where it was memorable. The grizzliest involved a y-peeler and a butternut squash.

[@soulchorea]

I always say, don't tell my ancestors but this is my favorite fried chicken in the whole world. I happen to live next to a shop that makes this for a really good price and I'm hooked! Note: Togarashi is nice sprinkled on top, and a squeeze of lemon is NECESSARY

[@SandraudigaVali]

definitely nice to see are more laid back, less edited video of you two on your channel kenji, gonna try this one asap

[@Janjanovitch9]

Love you guys both so much - great series, keep it comin'

[@LessTalkMoreDelicious]

Another ex: 🥓 Americans love their bacon crispy and/or dry af. In Japan, it is half-cooked, soggy and looks almost raw/undercooked.

[@AnferneeMyers]

Take note, everyone. THIS is how you do a cross over. Between the two channels, their episodes together have felt like a perfect blend of their styles as they work together and learn with each other.

[@davidhanna7511]

This is an EPIC collab in every sense of the word. Love you guys :)

[@sbhopper8511]

Nice to see some spontaneity. They clearly didn't plan this out to the second. There wasn't an email ahead of time specifying the need for a lemon. That lemon find wasn't a certainty. Fun video.

[@stevenbrazzell9915]

I probably would have acted the same as Andrew, awkward and excited.

[@Shynotic]

I love kara-age and try to get it at every sushi restaurant that has it. I love that every restaurant has their own interpretation that is slightly different and the sauce they choose to serve it with is always different as well.

[@israelgonzalez840]

Two of the sweetest dudes in this industry of youtube. Just gotta get ethan in here and it would be the drean team imo.

[@TheArcSet]

Thanks for this. Great to see more of you together.

[@josegelila]

I've been waiting all my life for this collab

[@Zypher77777]

5:05 I know it probably wasn't deliberate (and if it was - bravo to you), but the framing of that shot with your book on the counter and your hands full of chicken is like the perfect ad photo.

[@bocajnamyerf]

Great collab of combining both of your video styles. Great outro music

[@faithnelson6069]

the way they both kept repositioning the lemon was pretty funny.

[@DavidChong]

shio koji instead of salt works well in the marinade if you can get ahold of it

[@lukec7525]

I had the pleasure to meet Andrew a few weeks ago... In northern Illinois of all places! 😄 Super cool guy!

[@gorilla_with_jetpack4102]

Hi Kenji! Hi Andy! I read this as "Chicken Garage" and immediately laughed my ass off. Looks delicious.

[@MCWilson]

This man wrote the book on chicken karaage. You can tell because he has to refer to his own book while making it.

[@ReidGameX]

I’m so happy this happened. Can’t wait to see more!!!

[@NoName-mp2ec]

I love having Kara-age chicken in ramen, not sure if that's a thing, but I had it a few times and it's heavenly.

[@MrAqr2598]

Random Japanese person here. In my experience, _kara-age_ *in* ramen is not quite a thing; *with* it, definitely. I do love kara-age in ramen, though.

[@glenncamp733]

What do you do with the oil? If you reuse it, when do you determine it needs to be disposed? How do you dispose of the oil? These things keep me from frying.

[@suzu9404]

1. I strain and store used cooking oil in the fridge. Keeps it from going rancid over time, I just use quart deli containers tucked in the back corner of the fridge. 2. The oil darkens over time, I usually use it a half a dozen times before replacing it. 3. Depends on your local municipality. In some places it just goes in a sealed container in the normal waste stream, where I live currently they want you to drop off larger quantities at the waste station.

[@Tc_S0]

yes

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

This video is everything I dreamed of. I guess it's everything Babish dreamed of, too. He's friends with the greatest chef in the world.

[@SirPrizeMF]

Andrew going 110% giggly schoolgirl in front of Kenji is adorable.

[@sonfoku73]

#1) I've tried making this and I always have to ask where do people get such large and thick piece of chicken thigh? Mine from Kroger are long but not very thick so some parts/pieces of kaarage are stringy. #2) why does the frying oil seem to cloud up so much faster with cornstarch dredges than just plain flour?

[@wanderingjim7402]

In answer to your first question, try boning your own chicken thighs. The guys at Kroger are in a hurry and a little sloppy, (it's also my main grocery store). Or easier, save the stringy bits for something else, like stir fry or stock, which is what I do when I buy the pre boned thighs.

[@adventofnull]

Possible answer to 2nd question is that "cornstarch attracts and traps solids" (Cooks Illustrated). This property is used to the fullest when using it to clean frying oil, and it might be why it clouds it up so much more than AP foour.

[@gokulharikumar6627]

literally so sick to see my two fav youtube chefs interact with each other and very entertaining because are so vastly different lol

[@averagezing]

Gotta love Kenji talking about how Americans love that golden brown color and these dishes don't.... and then Andrew being like "look at that browning, such a nice color" LOL exactly as he said

[@seanparker571]

So many thoughts watching this. Loved Kenji’s content for so many years, and still get surprised by the levels of editing and professionalism from his original cookbook and other foodtubers. Maybe it’s hard sometimes to meet your heroes. I’m sure the wok book will be good too.

[@jodiac]

Oh joy, oh what great joy!!! I can actually make this now!!! I haven’t had any gluten for the past 2 years and like 8 months due to health reasons, but I’m finally reintroducing gluten, and everything is going swimmingly. I CANT WAIT to try this alongside just about all others of your fried, breaded recipes!!!

[@nyshraak]

This looks great, but the few times I've had karaage it's been boneless chicken with the skin still on. Not widely available in the states, but I would say it's really worth it to debone your own thighs and use them with the skin on for this dish!

[@Falconman9x9]

I’d like to see Kenji attempt to make Sicilian rice! The specialty from the Saga prefecture in Japan. I just tried it at Anzu Japanese Gourmet in Los Angeles and haven’t been able to find any sort of recipe for it online.

[@patrickporter6441]

Whenever I see chicken kara-age I am often reminded of Taiwanese popcorn chicken as well. I was wondering if you could go over some of the differences in preparations?

[@werbnaright5012]

What a combo And with new ink too

[@gemaordonez9334]

Just received your cookbook! SO.MANY.GEMS. Thank u!

[@ShahTalks]

Awesome Crossover of weird Camera POV Chefs,Love you both !

[@LukeBeks]

Kenji: *mentions beer* Andrew: *opens two cold ones*

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Imagine cracking open a cold one with your favorite chef.

[@rickwoods5274]

I'm currently watching a Babish/Kenji collab, and about to watch an Ethan/Alex collab. All is right with the world.

[@epicmarc]

I wonder if Kenji or anyone else has done any testing on dredging in flour then corn starch vs mixing them and dredging in the mixture? I've always done the former, but if the results are more or less the same I could probably save myself a little bit of time!

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Similar to puttin tempura in a noodle soup; i rly love to dip crab rangoons in soup bcuz i hate how much crispy dough there is on it and that softens the ends up just enuf to make it easy to chew.

[@Whitewingdevil]

I've only made karaage once before, but it's pretty easy if you don't mind frying in your home, really worth trying at least once.

[@chrissiper]

Love the Babish/Kenji crossover!!