Chicken Nanban is one of the most typical meal for ordinary people in Japan. When I was studying in Japan, I often ate this menu for dinner. I could get this within $3 at a cafeteria, so it was the perfect dinner for poor student like me.
The origin of Chicken Nanban began as a staff meal at a restaurant in Miyazaki. Chicken Nanban still is a representative dish of Miyazaki. It's a fried chicken soaked in soy sauce and tartar sauce is on top of it. Because the chicken is fried in low-temperature oil, it is a dish with a fluffy texture rather than a crispy texture.
Don't you wonder what Nanban means? In Japanese it means "Western person". In the Muromachi period Westerners such as Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish came from south of Japan via Southeast Asia. So, 'Nanban' refers to Japanese cuisine combined with Western cuisine.
For this meal you can use Chicken breast or thigh. I personally prefer thighs for this meal because it's more moist and softer, however you can choose whatever you prefer.
Chicken Nanban
Prep time: 30mins
Cook time: 30mins
Total time: 60mins
Ingredients for Nanban Sauce:
• 100ml soy sauce
• 100ml vinegar
• 2 Tbs Mirim
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• A pince of salt
• 1 dried chilli pepper(optional)
Ingredients for Tartar Sauce:
• 1 medium boiled egg (finely chopped)
• 1/2 onion (finely chopped)
• 5 Tbs mayonnaise
• 1/4 Tbs sugar
• 2 dill pickles (finely chopped)
• 1 Tbs pickle juice
• A pinch of salt & pepper
Ingredients for chicken
• 450g boneless skin-on chicken thighs
• all purpose flour (for dusting)
• 1 large egg
STEPS
1. First of all, we are going to boil one egg to prepare the tartar sauce. And chop the 1/2 onion finely and put it in the cold water for about 10 minuets. Drain the water of onion and squize it with the paper towel. Chop 2 pieces of dill pickles, and boiled egg finely as well. Add 5 Tbs mayonnaise,1/4 Tbs sugar, a pinch of salt & pepper, chopped pickles, chopped onion to a bowl and stir to combine.
2. To make Nanban sauce, add 100ml soy sauce, 2 Tbs Mirim, 1 Tbs sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 dried chilli pepper to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling for 1 minuet and turn off the heat and add 100ml of vinegar.
3.Debone a Chicken Thigh and trim any excess fat off the chicken and lightly salt and pepper.
4. Add 500ml of oil to heavy bottomed pot and heat to 170 C.
5. Dust the chicken with flour.
6. Beat the egg in a bowl until uniform and then dip the chicken in the egg to thoroughly coat. Gently lower the egg coated chicken skin side down into the hot oil. Fry the chicken for about 7 minuets until it's golden brown and cooked through. You will want to flip the chicken over a few times, but be careful not to break the crust off the chicken.
7. Dip the fried chicken in the sauce right away. And flipping it over a few times to coat it evenly.
8. Slice the chicken and serve with tartar sauce. You can add sliced cabbage, tomatoes, sliced cucumber as a garnish.
I recommend this dish as a lunch box menu as well ;) Hope you enjoyed this recipe, cheers!