Japanese fried chicken (Karaage)

1. Cut the chicken thighs, skin on, into roughly 4 cm pieces.

2. Mix the soy sauce, sake, grated ginger and crushed garlic, toss the meat in it and marinate in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

3. Let the excess marinade drip off and roll each piece in the starch so it is thinly but completely coated.

4. Heat the oil to 160 °C and fry the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes, then lift out and rest for 4 minutes.

5. Raise the oil to 180 °C and fry the pieces again for 1-2 minutes until deep golden and very crisp.

6. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with lemon wedges and a small bowl of mayonnaise.

Tip: Double frying is the secret: the first round cooks the meat through, the second, after resting, dries out the crust and makes it crunchy. Potato starch gives the crispest result, but cornflour works too.