Fried Octopus (タコの唐揚げ, Tako no Karaage)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy pot or deep-frying pan
• •Deep-fry thermometer, or long cooking chopsticks and a pinch of starch for testing oil
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Fine grater for ginger

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the octopus

   Buy boiled octopus with a clean sea smell, firm spring, purple skin, and pale flesh where it has been cut. If it smells sharp or ammoniated, cook something else today. Nothing hidden. For this dish, boiled octopus is the sensible starting point because the tenderness has already been handled, and the final fry can stay quick.

2. 2

   Cut clean pieces

   Pat the octopus dry, then cut it into pieces about 1 inch across, following the curve of the tentacle so each piece has some skin and some pale flesh. Even pieces fry evenly. Too small and they toughen before the crust forms; too large and the seasoning stays only on the outside.

3. 3

   Marinate briefly

   Mix the soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic if using, and sugar in a bowl. Add the octopus and turn it with your hands until every piece is glossy. Leave it 10 minutes, no more than 20. The marinade is there to season the surface, not cure the flesh, and too long in soy makes the octopus salty and dull.

   Sake loosens the soy's edge and carries the ginger. The sugar is not for sweetness as much as balance and browning.
4. 4

   Drain and starch

   Lift the octopus from the marinade and drain it well. Blot any puddles with paper towel, then toss the pieces in potato starch until they look dry and chalky, especially in the folds around the suckers. Let them sit 3 minutes, then toss once more in a little fresh starch. That second dusting gives the crust its rough, crisp face.

   Katakuriko, potato starch, is the usual coating here. Cornstarch works as a stand-in, but it fries a little harder and less delicately.
5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour 2 inches of oil into a heavy pot and heat it to 180°C, or 350°F. If you don't have a thermometer, drop in a pinch of starch. It should fizz at once and float, not sink quietly and not darken immediately. Hot oil sets the coating before the octopus has time to toughen.

6. 6

   Fry in batches

   Fry the octopus in small batches for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, turning once, until the coating is crisp and lightly golden at the edges. Don't crowd the pot, because crowded oil cools and the starch drinks oil instead of sealing. The pieces should sound dry against the chopsticks when you lift them.

7. 7

   Drain and serve

   Drain on a rack, not a flat paper towel, so the crust stays crisp underneath. Serve at once with lemon wedges and a little shichimi tōgarashi if you like. Salt is rarely needed because the soy has already done its work.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for yude-dako, boiled octopus, at a Japanese market. If the fish counter has raw octopus only, ask whether they will clean and cook it for you. Sourcing first, always.
• •Dry the octopus more than feels necessary before starching. Water is the enemy of this crust, and the starch should look dusty before it meets the oil.
• •Fry fewer pieces per batch than your impatience suggests. Karaage forgives many things, but cold oil is not one of them.
• •Serve this immediately. Karaage waits about as gracefully as a schoolboy in formal shoes.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut the boiled octopus up to 6 hours ahead, cover, and refrigerate. Pat it dry again before marinating.
• •Mix the marinade up to 1 day ahead and keep it refrigerated.
• •Do not starch the octopus ahead. Coat it just before frying, or the starch will turn damp and heavy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)