Crispy Chicken Karaage Air Fryer Recipe in Less Than 15 Minutes (2024)

FAQs

How do you crisp chicken in an air fryer? ›

Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and let the fried chicken come to room temperature. Next, arrange the fried chicken in a single layer and cook it for about four minutes, flipping it once to ensure even cooking. Resist the urge to pile up fried chicken in the basket.

Dry the outside of the food properly before you add oil. Do not use too much oil, as this will make the food less crispy and more fattening. Meat or poultry can be lightly brushed with oil or marinated to get the crispiest results.

Air Fry: Preheat air fryer to 170-180°C. Air fry for approximately 5-6 minutes (from frozen) or 4 minutes (defrosted) or until cooked through. Oven Bake (Fan forced): Preheat oven to 170-180°C.

An equal amount of all-purpose flour and cornstarch provides both structure and crunch to the batter. Cornstarch is a go-to ingredient for many fried foods (think crispy chicken wings), and using it to bolster the crisping power of flour resulted in a thinner, crispier, and sturdier (yet still delicate) breading.

A drizzle or a quick oil spray is all you need for restaurant-quality fries and golden brown fried chicken, while other foods don't need any oil, like pizza or leftovers you might reheat. Some advocate for spraying the drawer or rack inside the air fryer, and while it doesn't hurt, it's unnecessary.

Place half of the pieces in the basket of your air fryer. Try to ensure the pieces don't touch. Air needs to circulate around them. Spray the chicken pieces lightly with spray oil.

Only add oil to the ingredients and not directly in the pan of your airfryer. Pre-fried food such as frozen French fries, chicken nuggets, spring rolls, etc. do not need extra oil. Please do not use cold-pressed oil since it would burn at high temperatures.

Note that karaage will not brown like American-style fried chicken, since potato starch doesn't darken as much as wheat flour. A tell-tale sign that the chicken is cooked through is when it becomes very firm when compared to its raw form.

Potato starch is my secret ingredient to getting the same crispy Orange Chicken batter in the air fryer WITHOUT having to deep fry! This is because potato starch has larger granule sizes than other starches (such as cornstarch), which helps it get a crunchier texture.

Usually when deep frying, I dredge my chicken in beaten egg but I didn't want to clean up the drips from a wet batter in the air fryer. The cornstarch is enough to make the chicken crispy in the air fryer. It won't be a super thick crispy coating but it'll still be crispy!

What does cornstarch do for air frying? ›

Cornstarch – A bit of cornstarch really helps the air fryer do it's thing with our potato wedges. We get a perfect crunch without using too much oil. Seasoning Blend – I keep the seasoning pretty simple on these – paprika, garlic powder, salt, chili powder, etc.

Mixing corn starch into your seasoning is the key, because corn starch coats the wings easily and absorbs any excess moisture– making the crispiest chicken wings you've ever had. Then the air fryer does the rest of the work!

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.

The air fryer allows you to cut out excess oil while retaining ultra-crispy skin or delicious caramelization on chicken cuts. It's fast: Compared to an oven, chicken cooks quite efficiently in the air fryer. Typically, you'll shave off about 30 percent to 40 percent of the cooking time by using an air fryer.

If you want your fried foods to be crispy, you'll want to make sure you don't overfill the basket. The greater the accumulation of food that can heat up and melt, the more likely it will stick in the air fryer. It will also prevent food from becoming crispy and browned.

These Air Fryer Chicken Wings only take a few minutes to make, but require one KEY ingredient – baking powder! The baking powder reacts with the chicken skin by raising its pH level to create beautiful golden brown and crispy skin. I hope you enjoy this recipe!