Curry Leaf Chicken Karaage with Saffron Aioli

Ingredients

• 6 Boneless chicken thighs (Cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sake
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 3 Garlic (Grated, for the chicken marinade)
• 2 tsp Ginger (Grated)
• 1 tsp White pepper
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 65 Fresh curry leaves (For the marinade; blitzed after frying. Method says to fry curry leaves and blitz half, saving half for garnish.)
• 0.5 tsp Sea salt (The source says “sea salt / MSG”; use sea salt or MSG.)
• 0.5 tsp MSG (Alternative to sea salt, as written in the source)
• 1 Egg (Cracked; optional)
• 2 cup Potato starch (For coating)
• Neutral oil (For frying; use vegetable oil as described in the method)
• Saffron (Large pinch; soak in warm water just enough to cover)
• Warm water (Just enough to cover the saffron; the source also says to use a splash for soaking)
• 2 Garlic (Finely grated, for the aioli)
• 1 tsp Lemon juice
• 0.5 tsp Dijon mustard
• 100 ml Olive oil or neutral oil (Add gradually; more may be needed until the aioli emulsifies and thickens)
• Salt (A pinch, for the aioli)
• 22.5 Fresh curry leaves (Garnish; source gives a range of 20–25 leaves)
• Lemon wedges (For garnish)
• Saffron strands (Extra, optional garnish)
• Egg yolks (The method says to add egg yolks to the aioli, but no amount is specified; source ingredient list does not separately list yolks)

Steps

1. 1

   Heat vegetable oil in a wok for frying the curry leaves. Test with one leaf; the oil is ready when it sizzles. The source cautions to wear protection, such as swimming goggles, when frying.

2. 2

   Fry the curry leaves for 10–15 seconds, until crisp but still green. Transfer them to kitchen towel to drain.

3. 3

   Blitz half of the fried curry leaves and reserve the other half for garnish.

4. 4

   Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Combine with the soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, white pepper, sugar, blitzed curry leaves, sea salt or MSG, and the optional cracked egg to make the marinade.

5. 5

   Cover and marinate the chicken overnight if possible, or for at least 1 hour.

6. 6

   Spread the potato starch in a tray. Press each piece of chicken into the starch until coated.

7. 7

   Soak the saffron in a splash of warm water, just enough to cover it, and set aside.

8. 8

   Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the remaining aioli ingredients. Whisk regularly while adding the oil very gradually, until the aioli emulsifies and thickens; add more oil if needed.

9. 9

   Fry the coated chicken in the curry-leaf frying oil in a wok. The supplied method cuts off here, so it gives no frying duration or doneness cue.

10. 10

    Serve the chicken with the saffron aioli, reserved fried curry leaves, lemon wedges, and optional extra saffron strands.

Notes

The source method is truncated after “Fry chicken in curry leaf oil In wok a”; it does not specify frying time, chicken doneness, or the remaining cooking and serving details. The source also does not give a quantity for the saffron-soaking water or explicitly state the aioli egg-yolk amount. Use sea salt or MSG as the marinade seasoning; the aioli separately calls for a pinch of salt.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• chicken
• fried
• gluten-free
• dairy-free
• Indian-Japanese fusion