Hokkaido fried chicken for Sunday lunch. Stumbled upon this cafe on the edge of #Tsukiji district in Tokyo, choosing it because it looked black and goth inside, as well as scruffy and very busy, a combination that I trust in finding good food (though in Japan you’re unlikely to get bad food, very rarely).
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Called Hokkaidoura Memmisokuma #みそ熊築地店 #北海道らーめん it’s what appeared (from the people eating around me) known best as a ramen bar. Since I ordered from the vending machine outside and saw fried chicken #karaage (pronounced KA･RA･A･GE), 9pc for ¥780 (£5.60) I ordered that first, and didn’t twig that there would be anything special about it. Then when I was seated I saw a roughly drawn map of the island of #Hokkaido on the all-Japanese menu and suddenly I realised “this will be Hokkaido Fried Chicken” #zangi (pronounced ZA･N･GI) and got excited. Then I showed the server my phone with the HFC search on it and then they were happy I knew, the kitchen were happy I knew (the cooks came and said hello then), and it was all really lovely.
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So the difference between #karaage and Hokkaido’s #zangi is reputedly in the latter’s marinade ingredients (soy sauce, sake, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, honey and garlic) and flours used (maybe a combo of wheat flour and rice starch, but I’m guessing) to give Hokkaido’s fried chicken it’s very special crispness. And this was: it came scalding hot from the fryer on a bean of bean shoots with a squirt of kewpie mayo, though usually the sauce is sharper. Completely delicious though one huge plateful is more than enough. Would have been good with a beer, though I had water.
