What is your favorite Japanese cuisine? Many of my foreign friends answered “Karaage”, Japanese-style fried chicken. Yes, I get it, Karaage is like a soul food for us with each home and restaurant having its own unique ingredients and recipes. But, have you also tried the next level of fried chicken that many Japanese people of all ages love? It is Chicken Namban, damn good!
Chicken Namban (チキン南蛮) is originally a traditional cuisine in Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu. The word “Namban(南蛮)” historically referred to Western traders from Portugal and Spain in the 17th in the Kyushu region in Japan, who developed a base of international trade between Japan and other European countries. Those traders also introduced new culinary techniques, including the use of spices and fried foods marinated with sweet and sour sauces.
Thus, Namban-zuke simply means soaked-western sauce. This sauce is sometimes used for fish as well. It has not been fully discovered how this Namban chicken was created in history. What we know today is this food is absolutely delicious with a great combination of the rich flavor of tartar sauce! Don't overthink, let's enjoy this incredible dish with us.
Here are the ingredients and recipe.
Ingredients (for 2-3 ppl)
- - Thigh chicken meat 300g
- - Flour: 50g
- - Egg: 1
- - Water: 10mil
- (A) Tartar sauce
- - Boiled egg : 1
- - Onion: 1/4
- - Mayonnaise : 3 tbsp
- - Sugar : pinch
- (B) Namban sauce
- - Soy Sauce: 2 tbsp
- - Sugar: 2 tbsp
- - Vinegar: 2 tbsp
- 1. Cut chicken into 4cm size pieces and marinate with salt and pepper for 30 minutes.
- 2. Make tartar sauce. Mix (A), chopped ¼ onion, and boiled egg, and add mayonnaise, sugar, and some vinegar as your option. For the mayonnaise, I highly recommend the Japanese brand, kewpie Mayo!
- 3. Prepare a fried batter base, mixing flour, egg, and water. Heat oil 180℃ in the pan, dip each piece of chicken into the batter sauce coat them well, and fry it until gets golden brown.
- 4. In the flat cooking pan, heat the Namban sauce (B) until small bubbles come up on the top and thicken. Add 3. of fried chicken into the sauce and coat it well.
- 5. Serve chicken with topped tartar sauce. Meshiagare!
