Featured Comment:
“Great recipe! Worked wonders and enjoyed by the whole family. I did the sauce on Yuzu juice instead but it got abit stingy so Ill be more careful next time”
– Karl-Henrik
What is Toriten (Japanese Chicken Tempura)?
You might think chicken tempura is simply a deep-fried chicken with tempura batter, but technically, this is not the case. The batter is thicker to coat the smooth surface of the chicken, and the chicken meat itself is marinated. I would say it’s more like a cross between Tempura and Karaage.
Toriten is a regional dish of Oita Prefecture, which is located on the South Western island of Kyushu. Incidentally, the locals of Oita Prefecture are well known for eating a lot of chicken.
How I Developed This Recipe
Chicken breast and authentic Japanese light tempura batter often don’t pair well, as the batter is too light and thin to adhere properly to the smooth surface of the chicken breast.
To overcome this, I recommend using a special Toriten batter designed specifically for chicken breast. This batter ensures a delicious result, making it one of my favorite recipes for chicken tempura.
It’s an excellent way to enjoy the best Toriten at home, combining tempura’s lightness with chicken breast’s heartiness.
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Chicken Breast: Ideally, skin-on for this recipe. Although thighs can be substituted, the recipe is particularly tailored for chicken breast meat.
- Cooking Oil: Choose oils with high smoke points for shallow frying, such as canola, sunflower, or peanut oil. Rice bran oil and extra virgin (white) sesame oil are also excellent for both shallow and deep frying.
- Marinade Ingredients:
- Toriten Batter:
- Medium egg
- All-purpose flour
- Potato starch
- Dipping Sauce:
- Kabosu juice or any citrus juice of your choice
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
Kabosu is a citrus fruit closely related to Japanese yuzu. Oita Prefecture is well known for its kabosu production, so to keep with the regional theme, I used kabosu in my recipe. Of course, it can be hard to come by outside of Japan, so feel free to use more accessible citrus fruits such as lemon, lime, etc.
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Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsVisual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Japanese Chicken Tempura at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
The first step is to cut the chicken breast into bitesize pieces. It sounds straightforward, but because we only deep fry for a short time, it’s important that they are not too big; otherwise, the batter will brown too much before the chicken is cooked all the way through.
I recommend just a little larger than bitesize.
Try to cut the chicken into similar sizes so the pieces cook evenly and at the same rate.
Mix the soy sauce, grated garlic, grated ginger, sake, and sesame oil in a bowl and add the chicken pieces. Once every piece is evenly coated, cover it, and allow it to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
30 minutes is plenty of time for the marinade to work its magic; you don’t need longer than 30 minutes. In fact, if you marinate too long, the flavor can become overpowering, 30 minutes is the sweet spot!
One of the most important things to mention in this step is that you should use chilled water straight from the fridge to make the tempura batter. I recommend measuring out the water right at the beginning and chilling it while the chicken is marinating. (Some people even add ice to tempura batter.)
Whisk the chilled water and the egg together until combined, whisk slowly and gently so that the egg doesn’t become too foamy.
In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour and potato starch and whisk them together until combined. I recommend sifting the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make it extra light and airy.
Again, mix gently so that small lumps remain in the batter. Tempura is known for being a bit lumpy!
Preheat your oil to 170°C (340°F). Use a neutral flavoured oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable or canola. (Some tempura restaurants use expensive oils such as rice bran or white sesame oil; they improve the tempura but are not essential.)
If you’ve already mixed your tempura batter and you’re waiting for your oil to heat up, store it in the fridge to keep it chilled. Cold tempura batter works best and should be kept chilled while you’re not using it. This includes the time between batches if you’re making a lot!
Once your oil is hot, transfer all of the chicken pieces into the bowl of batter, coat thoroughly and then add them to the oil one by one.
Avoid overfilling the pot as this will reduce the temperature of the oil and not only will the chicken tempura cook more slowly, but the batter could become saturated and oily.
Fry for 4 minutes in total, turning halfway through. The end result should be fluffy and golden.
Once cooked, place on a wire rack to allow any excess oil to drain off. This will prevent the batter from becoming soggy.
Lastly, mix up the kabosu juice, soy sauce and rice vinegar in a bowl. It probably takes about 30 seconds, and it’s so zingy and refreshing, a perfect balance for a deep-fried dish!
Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsFAQ
“Toriten” is said to have originated from Toyoken, a restaurant in Beppu City, Oita, in the early Showa period (1926-1989). The existing karaage (the most famous type of Japanese fried chicken) on their menu was made with chicken thighs on the bone.
Toriten was originally made by cutting boneless thigh meat into bite-size pieces and arranging them tempura-style, out of concern that some people would find karaage with bones difficult to eat.
As a result, the batter, which cooks faster than karaage and is both crispy and soft, quickly became popular and can now be found in restaurants throughout Japan.
Even though the name toriten is an abbreviation of the words “tori” (chicken) and “tempura”, toriten is not the same as regular tempura. The first critical difference is that while toriten is seasoned before frying, regular tempura ingredients are not seasoned at all. This is because tempura is deep-fried in a mild batter and then dipped in sauce or salt; the purpose is to let the flavor of each ingredient shine through.
Because of this aspect, regular tempura has a whitish appearance, while the toriten looks more golden because of the marinating sauce. I personally do not recommend making chicken tempura with the regular thin tempura batter. Instead, use this toriten marinade and batter recipe created especially for chicken tempura.
The contents of the batter itself are quite similar, but toriten batter has a slightly thicker consistency. As for the dipping sauce, toriten is served with a sour dipping sauce made with soy sauce, citrus juice and vinegar (similar to ponzu) rather than the usual tempura dipping sauce (tentsuyu).
Okay now, how is toriten different from karaage? Aren’t they both “fried chicken”? In the broadest terms, yes, they are both deep-fried chicken dishes that are marinated beforehand. The biggest difference between the two is in the batter.
This is because karaage is basically deep-fried with a dry coating, whereas toriten is made by dipping it in a tempura-style batter made with egg. If you compare them side by side, you will definitely notice that karaage is crunchier, whereas toriten is light and crispy, yet also slightly fluffy due thanks the eggs creating an airier batter.
Furthermore, karaage is often made with chicken thigh meat, whereas toriten often uses chicken breast. Incidentally, I prefer thigh meat for karaage but breast meat for toriten. So if you want to make Japanese-style fried chicken with chicken breast, I definitely recommend making toriten over karaage.
Unlike the dishes above that certainly have similaries, chicken tempura and chicken katsu are completely different. Toriten is basically a battered chicken, whereas chicken katsu is coated with flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs and then deep-fried.
If you look at my pictures above, you can see how they are very different. In addition, chicken katsu is usually served with a thick katsu sauce.
I hope you enjoy this Toriten recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Chicken Recipes
- Crispy Japanese Teriyaki Chicken
- Chicken Tatsuta Age (Shallow-fried)
- Yamachan Chicken Wings (Nagoya Style Tebasaki)
- Karami Chicken (Saizeriya Chicken Wings Copycat Recipe)
Want more inspiration? Explore my Chicken Recipe Roundup Post for a carefully selected collection of tasty udon recipe ideas to spark your next meal!
Oita Style Chicken Tempura (Toriten)
Equipment
- Tempura paper (optional)
- Japanese-style fryer (optional)
- Stainless steel cooking tray with wire rack (optional)
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken breast preferable skin-on
- cooking oil for deep-frying
Marinade
Toriten batter
- 1 egg
- 50 ml water chilled
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp potato starch
Toriten dipping sauce
- 1 tbsp kabosu juice or citrus juice of your choice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Instructions
- Cut 400 g chicken breast into large bitesize pieces.
- Add 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp ginger root, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp sake and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil to a mixing bowl, mix well and add the chicken pieces. Mix until the chicken is fully coated, cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (I also recommend measuring out the water for the batter at this point and chilling for 30 minutes too!)
- Start heating your oil to 170 °C (338 °F). While you wait, gently whisk 1 egg with 50 ml water, being careful not to let it become too foamy.
- Sift 4 tbsp all-purpose flour and 3 tbsp potato starch into the bowl and mix gently, it's okay if there are small lumps in the batter.
- Once the oil is preheated, dip the chicken in the batter and deep fry for 4 minutes, turning it halfway through.
- Transfer the cooked toriten to a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drain off.
- Mix the 1 tbsp kabosu juice (or citrus of your choice), 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp rice vinegar in a small bowl.
- Dish up and enjoy!
Erika
Would mirin be an okay substitute for the sake?
Yuto Omura
You can, but I think a better substitute would be dry white wine or dry sherry. Thanks for your question!
Karl-Henrik Ohlin
Great recipe! Worked wonders and enjoyed by the whole family. I did the sauce on Yuzu juice instead but it got abit stingy so Ill be more careful next time
Thanks from Sweden
Yuto Omura
Hi, thank you for trying this recipe and sharing your experience!
Kiyo
Aloha Yuto!
Can you recommend to me a tempura/deep fry pot like the one you use for this recipe? I’m looking for one that is made well and is not too large so that I can use it for two people and not have to waste so much oil (in larger pots I have)?
Mahalo,
Kiyo
Yuto Omura
Hi Kiyo,
Thank you for the question!
You can actually buy the exact same model that I use (Yoshikawa Tempura Pot) on Amazon.com! You can also check out the tools and equipment I use and recommend on my storefront page!
I hope this answer helps!
Yuto