Chicken Nanban

Published: 04/16/2020
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This makes for a perfect meal or snack for the kids. Chicken Nanban is a Kyūsyū region take on the popular Japanese fried chicken “Karaage”. It is a delicious version and an easy authentic Japanese recipe. Why not try it one night with the family instead of KFC?

Chicken Nanban served on a round plate with green salad leaves and a bowl of tartar sauce

What is Chicken Nanban?

Chicken Nanban originated in the Miyazaki prefecture in Kyusu Island. Succulent and juicy Karaage chicken soaked in sweet and sour Nanban sauce topped with delicious tartar sauce! No wonder this is the most popular fried chicken dish in Japan.

Cut chicken meats on the left, an egg, 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, a bowl of sake and soy sauce

Why is it called Nanban?

The term “Nanban” was originally used in China which means “Southern Barbarians”. However, in Japan Nanban referred to something foreign and desirable, especially from Europe. In the Muromachi and Edo periods, many merchants and missionaries arrived in Kyushu island from European countries such as Portugal and Spain. They brought not only goods to sell and Christianity but also foods such as Tempura and Castella.

cutting chicken meats and adding marinade to marinate the chicken in 4 photos

Chicken Nanban vs Karaage

There are many different Karaage recipes. To make Chicken Nanban, we need to make Karaage first. I have shared a Karaage recipe passed down from my mother previously, which uses potato starch for coating, though the Karaage recipe to make Chicken Nanban is a bit different.

Chicken meats marinated and adding beaten egg and flour to make batter to deep fry the chicken

How to make Karaage for this?

We need to marinate the chicken meat with soy sauce and sake then mix it with an egg and flour so that when it is deep-fried the Karaage is crispy and fluffy. It soaks up delicious sweet and sour Nanban sauce better also. Then it is topped with tartar sauce made with delicious Japanese mayonnaise.

deep frying karaage chicken and then soaking them in nanban sweet and sour sauce to serve with tartar sauce

Which Part of Chicken Should I Use?

I prefer using chicken thighs because they have got more flavour than breasts. Also, chicken breasts tend to get drier than thighs. However, for this chicken Nanban recipe, the chicken pieces will be dipped in Nanban sauce and then topped with tartar sauce, so the moisture will be intact.

4 chicken thigh fillets on the left and a chicken breast on the right

Now for the simple Nanban Sauce.

Nanban sauce is a sweet and sour sauce with dry chilli called “Takanotsume” and sliced onions. Nanban sauces vary but I make it simple and use only 4 ingredients. One important tip to make this sauce is to add vinegar at the end-stage. This is so the sauce will not lose the acidity of the vinegar as it evaporates with the heat.

nanban sauce made in a small saucepan

How to make Tartar sauce?

In a previous post, I have shared the Japanese way of making tartar sauce. There are many different versions of Tartar sauce out there. The base of the sauce consists of either mayonnaise or aioli. I use Japanese mayonnaise, gherkins, onions and add shiso leaves to enhance the flavour of the sauce. I have not put this into the recipe card here. To learn how to make the Tartar sauce, click on the link above.

a small bowl of tartar sauce

Stay Connected

Hope you enjoy making this Japanese regional speciality dish and if you like the recipe please leave comments below and rate the recipe.

Chicken nanban served on a round plate with green salad leaves

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Chicken Nanban served on a round plate with green salad leaves and a bowl of tartar sauce

Chicken Nanban チキン南蛮

4.37 from 11 votes
This makes for a perfect meal or snack for kids. Chicken Nanban is a type of Japanese fried chicken and an easy authentic Japanese recipe.

Video

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1lb/500g Chicken thighs *1
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tbs sake *2
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup All purpose flour
  • 2cups/500ml oil for deep fry *3

Nanban Sauce

  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 2 tbs Japanese rice vinegar
  • 1 birds eye chilli called "Takanotsume" *4

Tartar sauce *5

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

Make Tartar sauce and set aside *5

    Making Nanban sauce

    • Combine all Nanban sauce ingredients except rice vinegar in a small saucepan, bring to boil
    • Add the rice vinegar and turn the heat off and set aside. *6

    Cooking chicken thigh

    • Place the thigh meat on a chopping board, remove excess fat, and cut them to bite size pieces.
    • Marinate in soy sauce and sake in a bowl for about 20 minutes.
    • Add egg and flour to the bowl and mix them well to coat the chicken pieces.
    • Heat oil in a frying pan to 356°F/180°C. *7
    • Slide the egg mixture coated chicken thighs in the pan and deep fry until golden brown. *8
    • Soak the deep fried chicken briefly in the Nanban sauce and serve it with some tartar sauce drizzled over it.

    Notes

    *1 As it is discussed in the above post, you can use chicken breasts if you like. 
    *2 Sake can be substituted by Chinese wine, or dry sherry. 
    *3 You need about 2 cups/500ml of deep frying oil. I measured the oil absorption and the oil absorbed was about 2 tbsp/30ml. So this amount of absorption is used for the nutritional fact calculation. 
    *4 If you can not access this or you don’t like spiciness, you can omit this ingredient. Takanotsume can be substituted by a little bit of chilli powder such as Shichimi togarashi.
    *5 See Tartar sauce recipe and instruction here.
    *6 As this is discussed in the above post, it is important to add the vinegar last. If you add the vinegar from the beginning, the acidity of the vinegar will evaporate. 
    *7 If you don’t have a thermometer and don’t know when to add chicken into the oil, drop a tiny bit of coating into the oil. If it drops about half way down into the oil, then floats back up, it is ready to deep fry the chicken. 
    *8 You can tell when it is cooked. Lift any chicken up out of the cooking oil with a pair of chopsticks and if you feel tiny vibrations through the chopsticks, it is cooked. 
    *9 Nutritional values are calculated with 30ml deep frying oil.  
    Click here to add your own private notes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 425kcal · Carbohydrates: 14g · Protein: 24g · Fat: 29g · Saturated Fat: 7g · Cholesterol: 163mg · Sodium: 615mg · Potassium: 301mg · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 6g · Vitamin A: 157IU · Calcium: 16mg · Iron: 2mg
    Author: Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles
    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @chopstickchronicles on social media!
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    Shihoko Ura of Chopstick Chronicles
    About The Author

    Shihoko Ura

    Shihoko Ura is a Japanese home cook and cookbook author with a passion for food and photography. She shares her authentic and beloved recipes with step-by-step guides and helpful tips so you too can make delicious Japanese food at home. Her recipes have featured in The Japan Times, Buzzfeed, and Country Living.

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    4.37 from 11 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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    Questions and Reviews

    1. Hi Shihoko
      Do you have any tips on where in Brisbane I could get Shiso leaves (or even better, a plant)?
      Many thanks
      Michael

      Reply

      1. Hi Michael, Genki mart (they have three shops, one in the city, one in Alderley and another in Salisbury?) and Fuji mart in Buranda shsopping complex in front of PA hospital, they sometimes have 10 leaves in a small plastic sleeve. I grew mine in my backyard and bought from a Japanese lady lives in Sunshine Coast. She has a shop in Facebook marketplace. If I can find the page, I will send you a link to your email address 😀

        Reply

    2. 4 stars
      I am really loving the website as I have now attempted a couple of recipes.

      The one question I have about the Nanban chicken, does it need to be deep fryed ? Can it be placed into a pan with a small amount of oil until cooked ? Might be a silly question just wondering if it will give it the same authentic taste.

      Reply

      1. Hi Phil thank you for your compliment 😀 , how much amount of oil are you thinking of? like 1 tbs? or the amount the chicken would be dipped half? If smaller amount of oil( like chicken would be dipped in half) is used, it will be same taste but I think the amount of oil absorbed will be similar.

        Reply

    3. 5 stars
      Hello,
      is it one or two eggs that goes with the flour and marinated chicken?
      I am doing your recipe tonight, i will try with one egg 😉

      Reply

    4. 4 stars
      I cooked it tonight and it came out very tasty. I served it with sliced avocado and baked sweet potatoes.

      Reply

    5. Im going to try this soon! I just got back from Miyazaki and ate Chicken Nanban almost everyday lol.

      Reply

      1. Hi Chris 😀 Lucky you ate this everyday in Miyazaki! I recon this is next level of Karaage but many people don’t know yet.

        Reply

        1. 5 stars
          This recipe is so good! I had to order some Japanese Mayonnaise, but I finally made this today. It’s taste exactly like the Chicken Nanban my friend made for me in Miyazaki.

          Thank you so much!!!

        2. Great 😀 I am glad to know that this Chicken Nanban bring back your memory in Japan 😀

      1. Hi Charlie, sorry for the delayed reply. For the Tartare sauce, 2 boiled eggs 😀

        Reply

      1. Hi Angie, the Nanban sacue recipe is in the post. You just need to combine all the sauce ingredients. Do you mean that you can not get the ingredients?

        Reply

        1. I think their problem is that you didn’t specify exactly what ingredients go into the Nanban sauce, which makes it a little more difficult to know what goes into making the sauce. If you separate the ingredient list into different categories for the different parts (such as Tartar sauce ingredients, and Nanban Sauce ingredients) it may be easier to follow.