I first had this fried chicken back in 2008 at the Kawamoto Store, an okazuya in Hilo, Hawaii. Okazuya is an amalgam of the Japanese words “okazu” (side dish) and “ya” (shop). Inside the take-out style mom and pop okazuya were glass counters with trays of local food sold by the piece or pound. They have a huge variety such as spam musubis, different filled cone sushi, teriyaki beef, shrimp tempura, fish katsu, nishime, and chow mein.
But something really caught my eye-- this nori wrapped chicken. Definitely unique, so of course I had to try it.
And let me tell you, even though the chicken was cold, it was so good. A little salty, a little sweet, and a whole lot of yum. I imagined that it would be even better if I had eaten this when it was still hot out of the fryer!
After talking with some friends, it turns out that this nori wrapped chicken is basically a version of mochiko chicken wrapped in seaweed. (And a tastier version, in my opinion!) It makes for a nice appetizer presentation as the seaweed holds the chicken in a more uniform shape even when fried up. I love this dipped in a sweet chili sauce, but it's yummy on it's own too.
Here's How To Make It:
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| Marinate chicken overnight |
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| Cut 3 sheets of nori into 1 to 1.2 inch wide strips |
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| Place marinated chicken piece onto nori strip and roll |
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| Shallow fry in hot oil 4 to 5 min each side |
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| Turning chicken until golden brown on both sides and cooked through |
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| Drain on paper towels |
Yields 6 servings (about 15-18 pieces)
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into strips (approximately 1.5 by 2.5 inch strips)
- 1 egg
- 1 t salt
- 5 T soy sauce
- ¼ c sugar
- ½ t pepper
- 2 t garlic powder
- 2 t ginger powder
- 1 T dried chopped onion flakes
- ½ t sesame oil
- ¼ c all purpose flour
- ¼ c cornstarch
- 3 sheets of nori cut into 1 to 1.2 inch wide strips (about 6 strips per sheet of nori)
Procedures:
1. Mix all the ingredients together EXCEPT the nori strips and refrigerate overnight to allow the chicken pieces to marinate.
2. The next day, cut nori strips. Place a piece of marinated chicken on the nori strip and roll to wrap chicken. See picture. Repeat until all the chicken are wrapped.
3. Heat a pan with about ½ inch of cooking oil under medium low heat. When the oil is hot, add chicken pieces in a single layer without crowding the pan, and shallow fry about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown and cooked through.
4. Drain excess oil on a plate lined with paper towels, and serve hot, warm or cold; with or without a sweet chili dipping sauce.