Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

Coated with only tapioca starch gives a crispy coating with a crumb-like texture

Coated with only tapioca starch gives  a crispy coating with a crumb-like texture

Coated with mixture of  plain flour & tapioca starch

I made two batches of Chicken Karaage (the Japanese version of crispy fried chicken) - one coated with only "tapioca starch" and the other a combination of plain flour and "tapioca starch".  I personally prefer the one with "tapioca starch" only coating as it stayed crispy longer.  The "tapioca starch" I used is actually sweet potato starch -  地瓜粉 as indicated on the packaging although it says Tapioca Starch in English.

Tapioca Starch - 地瓜粉 (by Sunright Foods Corp, Taiwan)

Recipe Source:  Japanese Cooking 101

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 tbsp Sake
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp grated garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup corn starch (I used the Taiwanese brand of tapioca starch - 地瓜粉)
salt & pepper
enough oil for deep frying
lime wedges for serving

• Marinate chicken pieces in Sake, soy sauce, salt, pepper,  grated garlic and ginger in a bowl for at least 1 hour.
• In a plate, mix flour and tapioca starch together (or just tapioca starch).
• Coat marinated chicken pieces with the flour mixture; and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.  
• Drain well on paper towels before serving with wedges of lime or lemon on the side.

Tapioca Starch - 地瓜粉 (by Sunright Foods Corp, Taiwan)

地瓜粉 (meaning sweet potato starch/flour) - with a coarse texture 

as compared with ...

the Tapioca starch (from Thailand)

normal tapioca starch - with a smooth texture