karaage

noun

ka·​raa·​ge kə-ˈrä-(ˌ)gā 

: a Japanese dish consisting of pieces of meat (usually chicken), fish, or vegetables that have been marinated and then coated in flour, potato starch, or cornstarch and deep-fried

chicken karaage

This stall serves popular Japanese fare including ramen, sushi, skewers, tempura and karaage.

—Pam Pastor

Children's meals, featuring fresh karaage chicken among the options, are served on little bullet trains, a nod to Tokyo.

—Kirsty Bosley

also : the cooking technique used to prepare this dish

Karaage is a method of cooking where the chicken is marinated, lightly coated with starch, then fried, as opposed to using a batter.

—Toledo (Ohio) Blade

Soft shell crab was given the deep-fried karaage treatment …

—Joanna Blythman

… cod cheek fritters are fried in the super-light Japanese karaage method.

—Steve Dinneen

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese, "technique of deep-frying food without batter (as opposed to tempura), the food so made," from kara- "empty" + -age, derivative from the stem of ageru "to fry"

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above