Chicken Nanban with Tartar Sauce
Japanese fried chicken cutlets are soaked in a sweet-tangy vinegar-soy sauce and served hot with chilled, chunky egg-and-cucumber tartar sauce.
Chicken Nanban gets its contrast from sequence: a flour-and-egg crust is fried twice, soaked while hot in sweet-tangy nanban sauce, and paired with cold Japanese tartar sauce. Removing moisture from the cucumber and onion protects the tartar's creamy texture.
Instructions
- 1
Cover one egg with 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer for 12 minutes, then chill in ice water, peel, and set aside.
12 min
- 2
Finely mince the onion and soak it in cold water for 5–10 minutes. Halve and seed the cucumber, then mince it into 3 mm pieces. Drain and firmly squeeze the onion dry.
5 min
- 3
Finely chop the boiled egg. Mix it with the cucumber, onion, mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, and the tartar-sauce portions of salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.
- 4
Combine 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat.
- 5
Butterfly the chicken breast, cut it into two cutlets, and pound both to an even thickness. If refrigerator-cold, let them stand for 10–15 minutes before frying.
10 min
- 6
Season both sides with the chicken portions of salt and pepper. Coat with flour and shake off the excess. Beat the second egg in a shallow dish and coat one cutlet completely.
- 7
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170°C (340°F). Fry the egg-coated cutlet undisturbed for the first minute, then for 4 minutes total, turning halfway. Drain on a wire rack; skim crumbs, coat, and fry the second cutlet the same way.
4 min
- 8
Raise the oil to 180°C (350°F). Fry each cutlet again for 30 seconds per side until deep golden and crisp. Drain and verify at least 74°C (165°F) in the centre.
1 min
- 9
Reserve 2 tablespoons nanban sauce. Immediately place the hot cutlets in the remaining sauce and spoon it over both sides until evenly coated.
- 10
Slice each cutlet crosswise into 2 cm (3/4-inch) pieces. Plate, top generously with chilled tartar sauce, and drizzle with the reserved nanban sauce.
Ago's Notes
- The source uses two separate eggs: one hard-boiled for the tartar sauce and one beaten for coating the chicken. The salt and pepper are also measured separately for the tartar sauce and chicken.
- Seed the cucumber, soak the minced onion for 5–10 minutes, and squeeze both dry enough that they do not water down the tartar sauce. Make the tartar first and keep it cold.
- Keep the first fry at or below 170°C (340°F) and fry one cutlet at a time. Raise the oil to 180°C (350°F) only for the brief second fry, and use a thermometer to confirm the chicken reaches 74°C (165°F).
- Hot oil can spit strongly during the second fry. Use a deep, stable pot, keep its handle turned inward, never fill it more than halfway with oil, and keep water away from the fryer.
- Refrigerate leftover chicken airtight for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Do not freeze the tartar sauce. Reheat chicken at 180°C for 15–20 minutes if thawed or 30–40 minutes from frozen; make fresh sauces for serving.
Coat the chicken while it is still hot, then add the cold tartar sauce only after slicing so the crust keeps its contrast.
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