KFC-Style Japanese Fried Chicken

Cut up the 2 chicken thighs. Hold each one lengthwise and you will find a spot where the meat is not connected — cut there first to split it in two. Then divide into 4 parts: leave the thin middle section as one piece, and cut each of the thick sections at either end in half. You should end up with 9 pieces total.

Put the chicken in a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 tablespoon garlic paste and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

Add 3 tablespoons milk, then crack in 1 egg. Beat the egg as you mix everything together well.

Let it rest for 15-30 minutes, in the fridge or similar, so the flavors soak in.

Make the coating in a separate bowl. Add 6 tablespoons potato starch and 2 tablespoons cake flour.

Grind a generous amount of black pepper into the coating, then add 1 teaspoon allspice powder and 1 teaspoon Dashida and mix.

Heat the frying oil. Drop in a little of the coating mix — when it slowly starts to react, the oil is ready. Wait if it doesn't react yet.

Lift the marinated chicken out with chopsticks, let the liquid drain off well, then coat it in the flour mixture. Add more potato starch if you run short, and scrape up the coating settled at the bottom of the bowl to coat the pieces thoroughly.

Turn the heat to medium and add the chicken to the oil. Fry 4 pieces at a time, as that is the most the pot can hold, and fry them until deeply golden without worrying about them toughening.

When done, transfer to a tray lined with paper to drain the oil. The coating loses its whitish look over time and settles into a brown color, but that is fine.

After removing the chicken, raise the heat once to bring the oil back up to temperature, then lower it to medium before adding the next batch and frying the same way. Once everything is fried, it's done.