Off Kara and Off Chiki arrive at Laweson and on our plate.

We can’t stress enough how amazing the selection is in Japanese convenience stores, where every shelf is packed with delicious food and drinks. But has the Lawson chain gone too far with its latest creation, low-calorie chicken?

It’s an innovation that could defeat its raison d’être. Deep-frying is just about the most calorie-intensive way to cook chicken, but frying also gives it the special qualities that make fried chicken so delicious. If you want to avoid calories, you should just avoid fried chicken altogether, one could argue.

On the other hand, if you understandably feel that a full and happy life without chicken is simply not possible, then perhaps there is something to be said for a low-calorie alternative. If we consider eating chicken to be an inevitable part of our diet, then one potential benefit is preparing the chicken in a healthier way.

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

▼ Off Kara (above) and Off Chiki (below)

The names Off Kara and Off Chiki come from Karaage (fried chicken Japanese style) and “Chiki” – This is the abbreviation for “Chiki”. (a term used in Japanese convenience stores for boneless, breaded fried chicken cutlets). To be clear, these are not plant-based chicken substitutes, and They do not replace Lawson’s L Kara and L Chiki offerings with normal calorie intake. They are simply low-fat, low-calorie chicken dishes and To see how they compare in taste to their standard versions, we also took a pack of L Kara and a L Chiki for a comparative taste test.

▼ Left normal L Kara, right low-calorie Off Kara. Off Kara is currently only available at Lawson stores in Kanto (Eastern Japan), Tohoku, Hokkaido and Natural Lawson brand stores.

Let’s start with the karaage. Both versions cost 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 less than the standard L Kara.

The task of the taste tests was entrusted to our Japanese-speaking reporter snuffwho first took a bite of the Off Kara and prepared herself for a possibly dry and bland bite of meat…

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

However, when Snufkin took a bite of the regular L Kara, she could tell a difference between the two, especially in the breading. The L Kara breading is thicker, crispier, and starchier, and some oil squirted out as she bit into the meat.

But that doesn’t mean that the L Kara felt more like “real” Karaage than the Off Kara. and both are delicious in their own way, with Off Kara having a cleaner finish and L Kara leaving a greasier afterglow. It is really a matter of personal preference which is betterand both are viable options that deserve to share space in Lawson’s display case.

Next come Off Chiki and L Chiki.

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

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

Unfortunately, the Off Chiki did not make the same great first impression as the Off KaraAs you can see from the cross-section above, the meat is pressed/shaped like a chicken nugget and, apart from the unsightly processed appearance, also feels very firm in the mouth.

But if the Off Chiki made you feel like you were lost in a strange new land, the good old L Chiki was a delicious homecoming. Juicy. Flavorful. Unmistakably high in calories. It had everything you would expect from a deep-fried chicken cutlet, and the Off Chiki is really no substitute.

As we call it, Lawson has gone 1 for 2 with its new low-calorie fried chicken, which is, frankly, pretty commendable. As we said, the Off Kara is so good that we can honestly imagine some people preferring it to the L Kara based on taste alone. And what about the Off Chiki? It has reinforced our belief that the L-Chiki is a great occasional treat, and if we can’t fit one into our healthy eating plan, it’s probably best to just eat something else entirely.

Reference: Lawson (1, 2, 3, 4)
Photos ©SoraNews24
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