Chicken Nanban

Delicious Japanese fried chicken dish with a delectable tartar sauce and rich nanban sauce. Pulled from @elanneboake on TikTok!

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Remove skin, fat, and tendons from chicken thighs. Next, place a sheet of saran wrap on top of the thighs, then flatten them using a meat tenderizer. Flip the chicken thighs and flatten their other side, making sure not to make them too thin

Step 2

Combine soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and garlic in a bowl, then completely submerge chicken thighs; let sit for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Step 3

Boil eggs for 7-8 minutes, then place in ice bath for about 1-2 minutes.

Step 4

Dice onion

Step 5

Dice cucumber after removing insides and seeds, then salt and mix until evenly salted. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes, then squeeze them with your hands until as much moisture as possible is gone

Step 6

Dice cooled eggs

Step 7

In a bowl, mix onions, cucumber, diced eggs, lemon juice, rice vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and mayo to make the tartar sauce

Step 8

Combine soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, and sake in a pan and simmer until slightly reduced

Step 9

Gently pat chicken thighs dry after removing them from marinade

Step 10

Pour enough oil in a pan to submerge the chicken thighs and heat your stove to medium heat. Allow the oil to reach the set heat

Step 11

Pour flour on a plate and dredge a chicken thigh, making sure that the entire surface and all folds are well-coated. Shake off any excess flour. Do this one thigh at a time to prevent the flour getting too moist

Step 12

Beat an egg in a bowl next to the dredging flour, then coat the chicken thigh in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip back into the bowl

Step 13

Lay chicken thigh gently into frying oil and let cook until golden brown. Remove and gently lay onto drying rack or paper towel. Repeat for remaining thighs

Step 14

Soak fried chicken in nanban sauce or drizzle sauce on chicken, or rice if serving with rice

Step 15

Slice chicken into strips and place with rice on a plate or bowl

Step 16

Top with tartar sauce, and enjoy!