Chicken nanban（チキン南蛮）
What kind of dish is chicken nanban??
Chicken nanban is fried chicken marinated in a sweet and sour sauce and topped with tartar sauce.
The sweet and sour sauce used with chicken nanban is called “amazu” or “nanbanzu”.
It is said to have originated as a meal served to employees at a restaurant in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture.
The innovative combination of sweet and sour sauce and rich tartar sauce was well received by many people, and it has now become one of the most popular chicken dishes.
What is nanban?
In Japan, nanban is a word that refers to the Portuguese and their culture.
When trade with Portugal began in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1550, various Western food cultures were introduced to Japan.
The dish escabeche, in which meat or fish is fried and then marinated in a sweet and sour sauce, was also introduced to Japan by the Portuguese and became known as nanbanzuke.
Chicken nanban is an evolved version of nanbanzuke.
The difference between Chicken Nanban and Karaage
The difference between karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and chicken nanban is in the batter.
Karaage is made by rubbing chicken seasoned with soy sauce and garlic in flour or potato starch before deep frying.
Chicken nanban is made by rubbing salt into chicken, coating it in flour or potato starch, then dipping it in beaten egg before deep frying.
The use of egg creates a layer in the batter, making it easier for the amazu sauce to penetrate.
Sometimes the karaage is soaked in amazu sauce and then topped with tartar sauce, but strictly speaking this is not the correct way to make chicken nanban.
By the way, chicken nanban originally used chicken breast meat, but nowadays it is often made with chicken thigh meat, which is soft and juicy.
About amazu and tartar sauce
The key to the flavor of this chicken dish is the amazu and tartar sauce.
Ogura, the restaurant where this unique dish originated, has published the recipe, and the tartar sauce contains eggs, mayonnaise, ketchup, onion, and cucumber.
Another famous restaurant, Clayton House, offers a variety of tartar sauces using ingredients such as doubanjiang and mentaiko, which customers can choose from.
My particular recipe is to use black vinegar for the amazu. It has a milder acidity than grain vinegar and a unique sweetness.
Another thing is to blend the tartar sauce with a hand blender to give it a slightly airy texture.
This is because the tartar sauce sold by the company “Takemori” was very airy and delicious, and I wanted to recreate it at home.
Another trick to making an airy tartar sauce is to heat the onion once, squeeze out the water, and mix it with mayonnaise.
If you don’t have pickles, you can use cucumbers that have been rubbed with salt and then squeezed dry.
Pickles such as rakkyo and colored bell peppers (paprika) are also recommended ingredients for tartar sauce. Use according to your preference.
NUTRITION FACTS of Chicken nanban
calories Protein g Total Fat g
Oil absorption rate is 7%
INGREDIENTS for Chicken Nanban
- Tartar sauce
- 2 Eggs 130g
- Onion 70g
- Pickles 30g
- ☆Half calorie mayonnaise 65g
- ☆White wine vinegar 5g
- ☆Lemon juice 5g
- ☆Salt 4g
- ☆Pepper appropriate amount
- Amazu (Nanbanzu)
- Soy sauce (20g)
- Black vinegar (20g)
- Mirin (5g)
- Sugar (20g)
- Chili (1 stalk)
- Chicken
- Chicken thigh 600g
- ☆Potato starch 20g
- ☆flour 20g
- Egg
- Oil 40g
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Put eggs in boiling water and boil for 15 minutes.
- Remove eggs from water and place in cold water.
- Peel eggs and mash with a fork. You can also use an egg slicer.
- Finely chop onion and pickles.
- Place onion in a heat-resistant container, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Once the onions have cooled, squeeze out the water.
- Mix eggs, onion, pickles, half-calorie mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Soak chili peppers in a mixture of soy sauce, black vinegar, mirin, and sugar.
- Coat chicken thighs with flour and potato starch mixture and dip in beaten egg.
- Deep fry in 170°C oil for about 15 minutes.
- Soak the chicken in amazu (nanbanzu) for a few minutes. Soak the very hot chicken will help dissolve the sugar.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and top with the tartar sauce.
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