Chef Takumi
Agedashi Tofu (揚げ出し豆腐)
Agedashi tofu looks like a fryer test. It is only drained tofu, potato starch, clean oil, and a hot dashi broth waiting nearby.
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Fried Chicken Cartilage (軟骨の唐揚げ, Nankotsu no Karaage)
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Nankotsu no karaage asks only for good cartilage, a short seasoning, potato starch, and hot oil. The bite should be crisp outside, springy inside, and clean enough for lemon.
Appetizers & Snacks
Japanese
Game Day
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
10 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 small servings
Chicken cartilage makes some cooks pause. Good. A little pause keeps the hands honest. Nankotsu isn't strange once you know what you're eating: small pieces of chicken knee cartilage with a little meat clinging to them, fried until the outside crisps and the center keeps its firm, cheerful crunch.
The one detail that decides it is dryness. Season the cartilage briefly, drain it well, then coat it in katakuriko, potato starch, just before frying. If the pieces go into the oil wet, the coating turns heavy and the oil sulks. If they go in dry and lightly dusted, the starch tightens fast and gives the nankotsu that clean izakaya crackle people pretend is complicated.
This is not a sauced dish. We finish it with salt, pepper, and lemon because the pleasure is the cartilage itself: nothing hidden, no heavy sweetness pasted over the fry. Serve it as otsumami, a small thing for drinking, or as the loudest little plate in a meal. Leave it room on the dish. Even a bar snack deserves ma.
Karaage, written 唐揚げ, originally meant a Chinese-style method of frying without a heavy batter, and the word was in use in Japan by the Edo period before settling into its modern association with seasoned fried chicken. Nankotsu no karaage became a familiar izakaya item in the twentieth century, especially as yakitori shops and drinking houses made better use of small chicken parts that home cooks often ignored. The dish is usually made with hiza nankotsu, knee cartilage, though some shops use yagen nankotsu, the softer breastbone cartilage.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
chicken knee cartilage (hiza nankotsu)
Quantity
400g
thawed if frozen
sake
Quantity
1 tablespoon
shoyu (soy sauce)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
ginger
Quantity
1 teaspoon
grated
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
grated
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon, plus more for finishing
freshly ground white pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon, plus more for finishing
katakuriko (potato starch)
Quantity
1/2 cup, plus more as needed
neutral frying oil
Quantity
as needed
lemon wedges
Quantity
for serving
shichimi togarashi (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| chicken knee cartilage (hiza nankotsu)thawed if frozen | 400g |
| sake | 1 tablespoon |
| shoyu (soy sauce) | 1 tablespoon |
| gingergrated | 1 teaspoon |
| garlicgrated | 1 small clove |
| fine sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for finishing |
| freshly ground white pepper | 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for finishing |
| katakuriko (potato starch) | 1/2 cup, plus more as needed |
| neutral frying oil | as needed |
| lemon wedges | for serving |
| shichimi togarashi (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy pot or deep wok for frying
- •Deep-fry thermometer
- •Wire rack set over a tray
- •Spider strainer or long cooking chopsticks
- •Mixing bowl
Instructions
- 1
Check the cartilage
Look over the nankotsu and trim away any loose ragged bits, but leave the small pieces of meat attached. They brown well and make the bite more generous. Pat everything very dry with paper towels, because surface water fights the starch and makes the oil spit.
Buy cartilage that smells clean and faintly sweet, never sour or strong. Sourcing first, always. Frying only protects a good ingredient from being spoiled. - 2
Season briefly
Toss the cartilage with the sake, shoyu, ginger, garlic, salt, and white pepper. Leave it for 15 minutes, no longer than 30. The seasoning should touch the surface and scent the meat, not soak the cartilage until it tastes salty all the way through.
- 3
Drain and dust
Drain off the marinade and blot the pieces again. Toss with katakuriko until every piece is lightly coated, then shake off the extra. A thin, dry coat fries crisp; a thick damp coat turns pasty before it ever has a chance.
- 4
Fry the first time
Heat the oil to 170 C. Fry the cartilage in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring once or twice so the pieces don't cling together. The coating should turn pale gold and feel firm when lifted. Keep the batches small, because crowded oil cools down and gives you heaviness instead of crunch.
- 5
Rest the pieces
Lift the fried nankotsu to a rack and let it rest for 2 minutes. This pause is not idleness. Heat finishes moving through the small pieces, and the surface dries a little so the second fry can crisp it instead of merely cooking it.
- 6
Fry again
Raise the oil to 185 C and return the pieces for 30 to 60 seconds, just until the coating deepens to a clean golden brown and sounds dry against the strainer. Pull them before the meat darkens too much. The cartilage should stay springy, not hard.
- 7
Finish and serve
While hot, season lightly with salt and white pepper. Pile the nankotsu in an odd-numbered mound on a small plate, set lemon wedges to one side, and add shichimi if you like a little heat. Eat it at once, before the coating softens. Fried food is honest about time.
Chef Tips
- •Ask for hiza nankotsu, chicken knee cartilage, at a Japanese market or a butcher who breaks down whole birds. If you can only find yagen nankotsu, the breastbone cartilage, use it proudly, but know the bite will be softer and less round.
- •Katakuriko is the right coating here. Cornstarch works as a stand-in, but potato starch gives the drier, cleaner crisp we want for karaage.
- •Use a thermometer if frying makes you nervous. The oil temperature is not a badge of seriousness, it's just a number that keeps the coating light and the cartilage properly cooked.
- •Don't bury the finished pieces under sauce. Lemon, salt, and pepper are enough. If the ingredient is good, let it speak with its own small crunch.
Advance Preparation
- •The cartilage can be trimmed and kept covered in the refrigerator up to 1 day ahead.
- •Season it no more than 30 minutes before frying. A longer soak makes the surface wet and salty, which is not the point.
- •Nankotsu no karaage is best fried just before serving. If needed, hold the first-fried pieces for 20 minutes, then do the second fry right before they go to the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 120g)
Calories
245 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
520 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
13 g
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