Home / All Recipes / Japanese / Chicken Nanban - Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce
Chicken Nanban - Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce
Bite into juicy and succulent fried chicken with tartar sauce. These are great for snacking with cold beer. You can turn them into a meal with sliced lettuce/cabbage and rice.
One of the most popular bento items you will come across in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores is chicken nanban (チキン南蛮), or fried chicken with tartar sauce.
This dish is not a traditional Japanese dish (washoku) but a modern creation with a Western influence (yoshoku). First introduced in the Miyazaki prefecture, chicken nanban is now widely available in Japan, and just one bite will make anyone understand why this is such a well-loved dish in Japan.
With my chicken nanban recipe, you can cook and serve chicken nanban to your family or friends. There is no need to wait until you visit Japan to sample authentic chicken nanban.
Ingredients for Chicken Nanban
For the fried chicken, we need:
- boneless skinless chicken meat from thigh/breast
- salt
- pepper
- katakuriko/potato starch or cornstarch
- oil
For the tartar sauce, we need:
- onion
- hard-boiled eggs
- Japanese mayonnaise
- soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
How to Fry Chicken for Chicken Nanban
1. Prep chicken
Pat dry chicken with kitchen paper and cut it into bite-size pieces. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and coat with katakuriko or cornstarch.
2. Fry chicken
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry chicken in batches until golden brown. Use a strainer to remove excess oil from fried chicken.
TIPS: Always use a splatter guard while frying to avoid hot oil splatter and to keep your cooking area as clean as possible.
How to Make Tartar Sauce for Chicken Nanban
1. Microwave onion
Microwave onion in a microwaveable bowl for 3 minutes with a 600-watt setting.
TIPS: If you are unsure about the power setting of your microwave, you can cook the onion for 1 minute. The cooking is over when the onion is tender. If not, cook again for 30 seconds and check. Repeat this last step until the onion is tender.
2. Mix sauce
Add eggs, mayonnaise, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mash the eggs and mix well with the other ingredients.
How to Serve Chicken Nanban
Thinly slice a quarter of cabbage/lettuce. Wash and drain the thin-sliced leaves and arrange them on one side of a serving plate.
Place fried chicken on the other side of the serving plate and serve with the bowl of tartar sauce.
Pour the tartar sauce over the fried chicken right before serving.
Chicken Nanban - Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- Fried chicken
- 600 gram chicken meat (leg/breast)
- salt and pepper
- katakuriko/potato starch or cornstarch
- 4 tablespoon oil
- Tartar sauce
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1/2 cup Japanese mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Serve with (optional)
- cabbage/lettuce, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Prep chicken: Pat dry chicken with kitchen paper and cut it into bite-size pieces. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and coat with katakuriko or cornstarch.
- Fry chicken: Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry chicken in batches until golden brown. Use a strainer to remove excess oil from fried chicken.
- Tartar sauce: Microwave onion in a microwaveable bowl for 3 minutes with a 600-Watt setting. Add eggs, mayonnaise, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mash the eggs and mix well with the other ingredients.
- Serve: Arrange thinly sliced cabbage/lettuce and arrange fried chicken on a platter. Pour the tartar sauce over the fried chicken right before serving.
Leave a comment