Recipe Highlights
I’ve fond reminiscences of packing Rooster Nanban (Fried Rooster with Tartar Sauce) in my son’s bento lunch for college when he was simply 6 years previous. Actually, children and adults alike love this recipe that mixes juicy fried hen, zesty nanban sauce, and creamy Japanese tartar sauce. With layers of contrasting flavors and textures in each chew, it’s a dish the entire household can get pleasure from.
- Mild, crunchy crust that soaks up the tangy nanban sauce
- Prepared in about 50 minutes
- Excellent for weeknight dinners and bento the following day
If you’re craving fried hen, strive my Karaage (Japanese Fried Rooster), Nagoya Type Fried Rooster Wings, and Fried Rooster with Scallion Soy Sauce recipes subsequent!
What’s Rooster Nanban?
Rooster nanban (チキン南蛮) originated within the Nineteen Fifties in Kyushu’s Miyazaki Prefecture. The phrase nanban means “southern barbarian” and initially referred to foreigners, particularly merchants from Portugal who arrived in Japan in 1543. Later, it got here to explain international influences and Western-inspired meals. What units this fried hen aside is its flour-and-egg crust soaked in a tangy marinade and served with wealthy tartar sauce.
Substances for Rooster Nanban
- boneless, skinless hen breast
- nanban sauce – rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sugar
- tartar sauce – boiled egg, onion, cucumber, Japanese mayonnaise (I take advantage of Kewpie Mayo), rice vinegar, salt, pepper
- flour and egg
- impartial oil
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
How one can Make Rooster Nanban
- Make the sauces. Boil an egg and finely chop it with onion and cucumber. Combine with mayo, vinegar, salt, and pepper to complete the tartar sauce. Deliver the nanban sauce substances to a simmer in a saucepan, flip off the warmth, and funky.
- Lower and coat the hen. Butterfly the hen breast to make skinny cutlets of even thickness. Season with salt and pepper, calmly coat with flour, and dip in overwhelmed egg.
- Fry the hen twice. Deep-fry till golden. Relaxation, then fry them once more for 30 seconds per aspect.
- Coat in nanban sauce. Instantly spoon the tangy sauce throughout whereas the fried hen is scorching.
- Serve. Slice into bite-size items, prime with tartar sauce, and revel in!
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
These easy suggestions will make it easier to make Rooster Nanban completely each time.
- Make the tartar sauce first and chill within the fridge – It tastes finest served chilly alongside the new fried hen!
- Use rice vinegar for the nanban sauce – It’s milder than different vinegars and creates a balanced sauce with mild acidity.
- Soak the chopped onion – A fast soak in chilly water removes the sharpness out of your tartar sauce.
- Butterfly the hen – Thinner cutlets cook dinner evenly and keep juicy.
- Fry one piece of hen at a time – This retains the oil temperature secure between items. Learn my How one can Deep-Fry Meals at Residence information for extra useful suggestions.
- Don’t contact it too quickly – Fry the hen undisturbed for at the least one minute so the egg coating sticks.
- Coat with sauce whereas scorching – Coat the fried cutlets immediately in nanban sauce so the crust absorbs the flavour.
Variations and Customizations
Trying to change issues up? Strive these straightforward and engaging concepts!
- Use hen thighs – Pound them with a meat mallet or minimize into bite-size items earlier than frying in order that they cook dinner evenly.
- Skip the tartar sauce – Some variations—together with the unique model at Nao-chan restaurant in Miyazaki—go away it out.
- Make spicy nanban sauce – Add dried chili peppers or purple chili flakes when heating your nanban marinade and let it infuse whereas the sauce cools.
What to Serve with Rooster Nanban
We sometimes serve Rooster Nanban as a principal dish with a couple of sides. Listed here are my straightforward methods to spherical out the meal.
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
To retailer: Cool the leftover hen. Refrigerate in an hermetic container for as much as 3 days. Freeze for as much as 1 month. Make the sauces contemporary when serving leftovers.
To reheat: Reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 15–20 minutes if thawed, or 30–40 minutes if frozen.
FAQs
Why is it known as hen nanban?
The phrase nanban (南蛮) initially referred to foreigners arriving in Japan within the 1500s. It later got here to explain Western-inspired cooking methods like deep-frying (assume tempura) and vinegar-based sauces. Rooster Nanban—generally spelled hen namban—displays this affect.
What’s hen nanban sauce fabricated from?
Nanban sauce is made utilizing soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, and sugar.
Is hen nanban the identical as karaage?
Whereas each are fried hen dishes, the coatings are completely different. Karaage makes use of potato starch and/or flour, whereas hen nanban is coated in flour then dipped in egg earlier than frying. Karaage is usually served plain or with a squeeze of lemon, whereas hen nanban is dressed with nanban sauce and served with tartar sauce.
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Stop your display from going darkish
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Collect all of the substances. Make the tartar sauce first so it has time to sit back within the fridge—it tastes finest served chilly alongside the new fried hen.
To Make the Tartar Sauce
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Place 1 massive egg (50 g w/o shell) in a saucepan and canopy with water by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Deliver to boil over medium warmth, then cut back to a delicate simmer for 12 minutes till totally hard-boiled.
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Switch the egg to an iced tub to cease the cooking. As soon as cool sufficient to deal with, peel and put aside.
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Mince ¼ onion as finely as potential. Place it minimize aspect down. Make ⅛-inch (3 mm) vertical slices to inside ½ inch of the foundation finish. Lower 2–3 horizontal slices towards the foundation.
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Slice crosswise ⅛ inch (3 mm) for a good mince. Mince finer by operating your knife by means of them in a rocking movement. Submerge the onion in chilly water for five–10 minutes.Nami’s Tip: Soaking the onion removes the sharpness.
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Lower off the ends from ½ Japanese or Persian cucumber. Slice in half lengthwise. Take away the seeds with a spoon.Nami’s Tip: Scooping out the seeds retains extra moisture out of the tartar sauce.
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Lower the cucumber halves lengthwise into skinny strips.
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Finely mince them crosswise into ⅛-inch (3 mm) items. Place in a medium bowl. Nami’s Tip: Add as a lot or as little as you want—extra for a chunkier, more energizing sauce, much less for a creamier one. I take advantage of about 3 heaping tablespoons. Reserve any leftover cucumber for salads or chilly udon noodles.
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Drain the onion in a fine-mesh colander. Squeeze out the surplus moisture and add to the bowl with the cucumber.
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Mince the boiled egg, particularly the egg white. Add to the cucumber and onion.
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Add 3 Tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, 1 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper. Combine nicely till clean and nicely mixed. Cowl the bowl and refrigerate till serving.
To Make the Nanban Sauce
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Mix 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), 1 Tbsp mirin, and 2 Tbsp sugar in a medium saucepan. Deliver to a delicate simmer over medium warmth. Stir till the sugar dissolves utterly, then take away from the warmth.
To Put together the Cutlets
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Butterfly (cut up) 1 boneless, skinless hen breast: Lower horizontally with a knife, stopping ½ inch earlier than slicing all through, then open flat like a e-book.Nami’s Tip: If the hen remains to be chilly from the fridge, go away it on the counter for 10–quarter-hour. Chilly hen lowers the oil temperature too shortly, resulting in uneven cooking.
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Lower in half down the center to get two cutlets. Pound either side with the again of a knife or a meat mallet till the cutlets are a good thickness all through.
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Season either side with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper. Coat with 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour). Mud off any extra. Put aside.
To Fry the Rooster
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Add 2 cups impartial oil to a medium pot. Deliver it to 340ºF (170ºC) over medium warmth.Nami’s Tip: I take advantage of an instant-read thermometer for accuracy. If you do not have one, stick a chopstick within the oil; when tiny bubbles seem across the tip, the oil is prepared.
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In the meantime, crack 1 massive egg (50 g w/o shell) right into a shallow tray and beat till completely blended. Dip one floured cutlet into the egg, turning to coat either side utterly.
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FIRST FRY: Gently decrease one hen cutlet into the new oil. Depart it undisturbed for the primary minute so the egg coating can set, then cook dinner for 4 minutes complete, flipping midway. Switch to a wire rack to empty. Between batches, scoop out any fried crumbs with a fine-mesh strainer to maintain the oil from getting darkish and bitter. Fry the second cutlet and switch it to the rack. Nami’s Tip: Fry one cutlet at a time to maintain oil temperature secure—and do not climb above 340ºF (170ºC), or the skin will darken earlier than the within cooks by means of.
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SECOND FRY: Increase the oil temperature to 350ºF (180ºC). Fastidiously place the primary hen cutlet within the oil and fry once more for 30 seconds on either side, till deep golden and crisp.Nami’s Tip: Watch out of larger oil splatters than in the course of the first fry. This occurs when the moisture beneath the crust vaporizes and hits the new oil.
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Take away the hen from the oil and switch to a wire rack or paper towel to empty. Repeat with the second cutlet.Nami’s Tip: When you’ve got an instant-read thermometer, test that the hen’s inside temperature is at the least 165ºF (74ºC). The hen will proceed cooking from residual warmth because it rests.
To Coat with Nanban Sauce
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Reserve 2 tablespoons of the nanban sauce in a small bowl for serving. Add the remainder of the sauce to a tray.
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Add the new hen cutlets to the tray instantly and spoon the nanban sauce over either side till all surfaces are evenly coated.
To Retailer
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Retailer the leftover hen in an hermetic container. Preserve within the fridge for 3 days or within the freezer for as much as a month. Don’t freeze the tartar sauce. Make a brand new batch of each sauces whenever you serve leftover fried hen. Reheat defrosted or frozen fried hen on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Bake till warmed by means of at 350ºF (180ºC) for 15–20 minutes if defrosted, or 30–40 minutes if frozen.
Trying to change issues up? Strive these straightforward and engaging concepts!
- Use hen thighs – Pound them with a meat mallet or minimize into bite-size items earlier than frying in order that they cook dinner evenly.
- Skip the tartar sauce – Some variations—together with the unique model at Nao-chan restaurant in Miyazaki—go away it out.
- Make it vegetarian – Prep agency tofu following my Pan-Fried Teriyaki Tofu technique then coat together with your sauces.
- Make spicy nanban sauce – Add dried chili peppers or purple chili flakes when heating your nanban marinade and let it infuse whereas the sauce cools.
Energy: 617kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 36g, Fats: 40g, Saturated Fats: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 19g, Monounsaturated Fats: 10g, Trans Fats: 1g, Ldl cholesterol: 308mg, Sodium: 878mg, Potassium: 510mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 308IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 2mg
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Editor’s Be aware: The put up was initially printed on January 22, 2011, up to date with new pictures and revised recipe on March 9, 2022, and republished with extra useful data on March 28, 2026.
