Trader Joe's Chicken Karaage

Karaage is a Japanese cooking method that involves marinating and deep frying meat such as chicken or fish. The technique dates back to the late 17th century. If you want to try karaage, you can actually pick up some chicken karaage from the frozen aisle at your local Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi.

The package says this features “crispy seasoned dark chicken meat with a sweet & savory dipping sauce.”

Trader Joe’s Japanese Inspired Chicken Karaage cost $6.49 for an 18.97-ounce bag at our local TJ’s in the summer of 2025. That comes out to about 34 cents per ounce. The bag has four servings, so that’s around $1.62 per serving. We bought this with our own money for review.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains egg, soy, and wheat.

One serving (135 grams) has 340 calories, 20 grams of total fat (26% DV), 3 grams of saturated fat (15% DV), 730 mg of sodium (32% DV), 25 grams of total carbohydrates (9% DV), no dietary fiber, 3 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV), and 15 grams of protein.

Trader Joe's Chicken Karaage — Nutrition information, ingredients, and cooking directions. (Click to enlarge.)

The bag has directions for cooking this from frozen in a conventional oven or in an air fryer.

To bake in the oven, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and bake on the center rack of the oven for 18 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

To air fry, preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees. Place chicken inside the air fryer basket in a single layer. Cook for 16 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

To thaw the sauce, place the unopened sauce packet in a bowl of warm water until thawed and ready for dipping.

Trader Joe's Karaage Chicken — Ready to serve after air frying the chicken, with the dipping sauce on the side.

I air fried the chicken, and it was done in about 12 minutes, not 16 as recommended on the package. So, if you air fry this, keep an eye on it because you may need to pull it from the air fryer sooner.

This was quite good. The chicken is crispy and flavorful. The dipping sauce — which features salted egg yolk, rice and malt vinegars, and garlic, among other things — is creamy, mild, and savory, with a thick consistency that makes it stick well when you dip the chicken in it.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Japanese Inspired Chicken Karaage features crispy, delicious breaded dark chicken meat, and it comes with a dipping sauce that features salted egg yolks. Recommended.