Did You Say Karaage Po’boy?

Traditionally, the summer between junior and senior year of high school is the summer of internships – perhaps at the Smithsonian or for a potential MLB team. However, as we all know, this summer is a little different than most. As such, I decided to impose an internship of sorts on myself: Create a detailed and thorough business plan. If I never end up going to college because of Covid, this is my Plan B: a food truck. But not just any food truck. This food truck will be centered around one of my favorite foods, a food you have seen here before, and a food that doesn’t have anywhere close to the representation it deserves: karaage (Japanese fried chicken).

In this hypothetical world where I open Kin Karaage (kin in Japanese means gold, as in the golden-brown color of our chicken when its fried to perfection), I would serve a very simple menu. The menu would consist of karaage, served both à la carte and as a bento (with the bento, you get karaage, rice, and tsukemono aka Japanese pickles) as well as a karaage lettuce wrap, onigiri, and po’boy. Accompanying this would be a variety of beverages, both Japanese and American, including Calpis, Pocari Sweat, and (a personal favorite that I discovered in Fukuoka) Coca Cola CraftTea Black Peach Tea.

Assisting me with this endeavor is Uri Kushner, who despite coordinating the opening of yet another Dairy Hill location, manages to provide me with guidance and advice, courtesy of his decades of experience in the restaurant industry. Additionally, my great friend of more than a decade, Gen Rollin, has put his graphic design skills to work on a logo and branding for Kin Karaage.

In honor of my business plan (which is, at the time of writing this, mostly complete), I decided to try out one of my original creations: a karaage po’boy. For those who don’t know, a po’boy is a type of sandwich from New Orleans that encompasses fried seafood (usually shrimp, oysters, or catfish) with remoulade (a French sauce based on mayo, served cold) and an array of vegetables (lettuce, tomato, etc) served on New Orleans French bread. As a po’boy already calls for fried meat, I figured that karaage would fare well in a po’boy. But was I right? Let’s find out.

I’ve already made karaage and posted it here so I won’t bore you with the details. Marinade, double fry, blah blah blah.

After a lot of breading and frying:

We produce this beautiful platter of crispy, golden-brown “kin” karaage:

Now comes the fun part: Experimenting with whatever ingredients I can find in order to create a remoulade that straddles the border between Asian and Cajun cuisine.

Let’s go to work:

Now all that is left to do is assemble our karaage po’boys.

Here are my overall thoughts on the first draft of the karaage po’boy:

• Waaaay too much bread. A regular baguette is too thick and makes eating the po’boy a hassle. After some research, I learned that the New Orleans bread used for po’boys resembles a sub roll in its squishiness. New Orleans bread is practically impossible to obtain in Portland, so I think my best course of action is to use a Banh Mi roll for the following reasons:
  • It’s still French in origin.
  • It’s very squishable.
  • Readily available in Portland – An Xuyen bakery (my favorite Banh Mi spot) makes them fresh and delicious every day.
  • Way cheaper than ordering New Orleans rolls from New Orleans and getting them shipped out here.
• The remoulade, while spicy by itself, is not spicy enough when eaten on the sandwich. It’s also too light in color – who wants a beige sandwich? Both of these issues can be remedied by adding a healthy serving of chili crisp, which provides both a bright red hue and a smoky, flavorful spiciness.
• Overall, however, this was delicious. The karaage is juicy and flavorful, and the remoulade adds an extra level of moisture and flavor. I would give what I made here today a 7/10, but I believe that my improvements could make this a much, much better sandwich. Stay tuned.

If Kin Karaage ever becomes a reality, pay me a visit. Your po’boy awaits you.