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Does Japan’s new low-calorie convenience store fried chicken have any reason to exist?【Taste test】

Casey Baseel Aug 12, 2024
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Off Kara and Off Chiki arrive at Laweson, and on our plate.

We really can’t overstate just how amazing the scope of selection is at Japanese convenience stores, where every shelf is stuffed with tasty things to eat and drink. But has the Lawson chain gone too far with its latest creation, low-calorie fried chicken?

It’s an innovation that risks undoing its very reason to exist. Frying is pretty much the most calorie-intensive way to cook chicken, but frying also imparts the distinct qualities that make fried chicken so delicious. If you’re trying to avoid calories, you should just be avoiding fried chicken altogether, one could argue.

But on the other hand, if you’re of the very understandable opinion that it’s simply not possible to live a full and happy life without eating fried chicken, maybe there’s something to be said for a low-calorie option. If we consider fried chicken intake to be an inevitable part of our diet, then there’s a potential upside to making that fried chicken healthier.

And so our desire to delve into these diverse issues (as well as our desire to eat fried chicken for lunch and have or boss pay for it) led us to our local Lawson to try their new Off Kara and Off Chiki.

▼ Off Kara (top) and Off Chiki (bottom)

The Off Kara and Off Chiki get their names from karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) and “chiki” (a term used by Japanese convenience stores for boneless, breaded fried chicken cutlets). To be clear, these aren’t plant-based chicken substitutes, and they’re not replacing Lawson’s regular-calorie L Kara and L Chiki offerings. They’re simply low-fat, low-calorie fried chicken options, and to see how they stack up taste-wise against their standard versions, we also picked up a pack of L Kara and an L Chiki for a comparison taste test.

▼ Regular L Kara on the left, low-calorie Off Kara on the right. Off Kara is currently only available at Lawson locations in Kanto (east Japan), Tohoku, Hokkaido, and Natural Lawson-branded branches

Starting things off with the karaage, both versions are identically priced at 260 yen (US$1.75) for four pieces. According to Lawson, the Off Kara has 197 calories per 100 grams (3.5 ounces), 25 percent fewer than the standard L Kara.

Taste-testing duties fell to our Japanese-language reporter Snufkin, who first took a bite of the Off Kara, bracing herself for a potentially dry and bland mouthful of meat…

…only to find that, nope, Lawson’s low-calorie karaage tastes just like, well, karaage! Both the meat and breading were moist and tender, juicy without being oily, and so delicious that she’d have just thought it was regular karaage if no one had told her about its lower calorie count.

When Snufkin then took a bite of the regular L Kara, though, she could notice a difference between the two, especially in the breading. The L Kara breading is thicker, crunchier, and starchier, and biting through the meat produced a squirt of oil.

This isn’t to say, though, that the L Kara felt more like “real” karaage than the Off Kara. and both are delicious in their own way, with the Off Kara having a cleaner finish and the L Kara leaving you with a greasier afterglow. Really, it’s a matter of personal preference as to which one is better, and they’re both viable options that deserve to share space in Lawson’s display case.

Next up, the Off Chiki and L Chiki.

▼ L Chiki on the left, Off Chiki on the right. Off Chiki is currently only available at Lawson locations in Kanto.

Just like with the Off Kara, Lawson says the Off Chiki, at 191 calories per piece, has 25 percent fewer calories than the regular L Chiki, and its 8.7 grams of fat are an even more impressive 40 percent less. The Off Chiki is cheaper than the L Chiki too, 198 yen vs. 238 yen.

Unfortunately, the Off Chiki didn’t make the same great first impression that the Off Kara did. As you can see from the cross section pictured above, the meat is pressed/molded like a chicken nugget, and aside from the unappealing processed look, its also very firm in terms of mouthfeel.

But if the Off Chiki felt like being lost in a strange new land, the good old L Chiki was a mouthwatering homecoming. Moist. Flavorful. Unmistakably high-calorie. It was everything you expect in a fried chicken cutlet, and really, the Off Chiki is no substitute.

So as we call it, Lawson has gone 1 for 2 with their new low-calorie fried chicken, which, honestly, is pretty commendable. Like we said, the Off Kara is so good that we can honestly see some people choosing it over the L Kara on taste alone. As for the Off Chiki, though? It’s reaffirmed our belief that the L Chiki is a great occasional indulgence, and when we can’t fit one in our healthy eating plans, it’s probably best to just eat something else entirely.

Reference: Lawson (1, 2, 3, 4)
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