Karaage, or fried chicken, is a very popular chicken dish all over the world. In Japan, chicken wings are marinated in a sweet and salty sauce before being fried. It makes a great side dish for a lunch box or an accompaniment to sake. It is well known among Japanese people that Furaibo in Nagoya was the first restaurant that came up with a chicken wing dish.
 
In old days, chicken wings were mainly used for extracting flavor in the making of broth. The chicken wings were simply discarded after making soup, because they were deemed to be useless afterwards. The current chairperson of Furaibo introduced a Copernican revolution in the cooking style for chicken wings back in the 1960s. The oil is heated extremely hot, a temperature that cannot be reached with a regular household stove. That is the key to keeping the chicken juicy, while making the skin perfectly crispy. A homemade sauce is smothered all over the fried chicken wings, special salt and pepper are used to taste, and then sesame seeds are sprinkled over. Furaibo’s fried chicken wings are simply superb. You can never get enough!

The flavor of chicken wings is certainly their main appeal, but the nutritional components should be noted as well. In general, chicken contains high levels of collagen, and this collagen is particularly highly concentrated in chicken wings. Collagen is said to have anti-aging and anti-balding effects, as well as serving to strengthen bones and joints. Chicken wings are especially strongly recommended for female readers because of their cosmetic benefits. Chicken wings are rich in gelatinous and fatty parts without having much meat. Precisely because of this, however, this piece is great when deep-fried. Other popular dishes using chicken wings include stew and oden (a Japanese hot pot dish) among other things.

This is why Chinese chestnuts are often preferred for making roasted chestnuts. European variations, on the other hand, are moderately sweet, and are commonly used for making confectionaries or flour.

Autumn is when the new crop of rice is harvested. The color contrast of sparklingly shiny white rice and vividly yellow chestnuts is a pretty sight. Let us enjoy the harvest season of autumn with some seasonal chestnuts.