karaage and vegetarian udon

This is not a recipe blog post. Not really. These are not my recipes, but I wanted to share one of the best meals I’ve made in a long time. This Super Bowl Sunday, we did not have any plans, and I know the day is supposed to be about snacks and guilty pleasure foods. Wings seemed a predictable crowd-pleaser for our teenage son. Then I thought to myself? What type of chicken does he love even more than wings? Karaage.

When I’m researching recipes, I look for recipes that have a lot of reviews and stumbled upon Just One Cookbook for the karaage. Knowing the author grew up in Japan and reading through the thoroughness of the instructions and simplicity of prep, I had a good feeling about this recipe. I was torn between serving this traditional appetizer for dinner with rice and vegetables and remembered I had a bunch of frozen udon from Mitsuwa and started searching for an udon stir fry and stumbled upon Mikha Eats blog. The ingredients all looked good and I had most of them on hand.

When I’m cooking, mainly things I’m making for the first time or recipes I haven’t “perfected,” I don’t get out the big camera and stage photography, so I apologize for not having pictures of the final dish. Check out the recipes linked above for the glamor shots.

I took the following in-process photos to send to my cousin, Ally. Now you see the mess on my island - we don’t have a mudroom or anywhere in a hall to dump paperwork or store stuff, so everything lives on the counter. I’m also super cautious about food safety and cross-contamination, so even though I used separate cutting boards and knives for the chicken and vegetables, I constantly wipe down surfaces with Chlorox.

Mise’d up and ready for this

I digress. Ally recently consulted me as she desperately needed new pots and pans and knows I’m obsessed with Made In non-stick cookware with the delightful Harbor Blue finish. As an aside, this blog is in no way sponsored or monetized by anyone at all. But if you need new pots and pans, don’t stop, click the link, the 12” non-stick pan pictured below is my favorite in the world.

Getting ready to cook - also look at the difference in the finishes between the Made In pans (12” non-stick pan and 5qt saucier) and some of the last of my Calphalon. For practically the same price, there’s no contest.

I’m not gonna lie, there was a lot of chopping and prep involved in this meal. It took about an hour and a half start to finish, including letting the chicken marinate for 30 minutes, but it was 100% worth it. The longest part was double-frying the karaage at the correct temperature (325° for 6-8 minutes, then 350° until golden brown) in small batches to ensure the oil kept the correct temperature. The mise for the udon - hastened by getting cole slaw mix for the cabbage - really only took about 10 minutes, which I did while the chicken was marinating.

The udon noodle dish was absolute perfection. With the karaage, I also wouldn’t change anything except to add that the Japanese seven spice (shichimi togarashi) should not be optional! A light dusting was heavenly.

I did serve it with my entirely unauthentic Asian dipping sauce that is a favorite at our house: about 1/8 cup Kewpie mayo, a healthy squeeze of sriracha, about a tablespoon of Thai sweet chili sauce, and a dash of sesame oil. I’ll take pictures next time I make this, but chef’s kisses to both bloggers!