Hey guys, it's Yuto here from @sudachirecipes.
Today I want to share with you a very special recipe which is close to my heart, and that is a recreation of famous Nagoya style "Yamachan" chicken wings!
I'm so excited to share this regional recipe for the dish that I've grown up with!
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Ultimate guide to Nagoya's chicken wings
But what are Nagoya style chicken wings? Let's talk a bit about the dish first.
What are "Nagoya" style chicken wings?
Nagoya is a large city in central Japan and is very close to where I live! There are many amazing "Nagoyameshi" (名古屋飯), dishes that this city is famous for. There's miso katsu (pork cutlet with red miso sauce), kishimen (flat udon-like noodles) and hitsumabushi (grilled eel), but I have to say that one of my absolute favourites is "Nagoya Tebasaki".
Nagoya Tebasaki (Nagoya style chicken wings) are delicious crispy deep fried wings that have been brushed with a special glaze and then generously dusted with a mixture of fine white pepper.
These Nagoya style chicken wings are famous all over Japan. If you've ever been to Nagoya I'm sure you've at least seen food displays of them piled up high. You'll need a large portion because they are so delicious, I could eat them all day!
What does "tebasaki" mean?
Tebasaki is the Japanese word for "wing tip" and refers to chicken wings. This dish always uses the whole wing with the bones in.
Funny thing, as a person from this area, almost everyone is pro at eating chicken wings. We can literally eat them without leaving any meat on the bones. I thought it is normal way to eat chicken wings but apparently this is a skill that people from this region have.
I'd say it's a nice skill to have though as you would not leave any precious meat on tasty chicken wings!
Yamachan VS Furaibo "Tebasaki War"
In this region, there are two main Nagoya style Tebasaki chains, Yamachan and Furaibo. They both offer amazing chicken wings and definitely recommend both to try.
However, the taste and style are slightly different. The history of Nagoya style chicken wings actually came from Furaibo where the owner came up with the idea of deep frying wings that used to be used only to make broth or soup. They made the trend of "Cheap and easy fried chicken."
Another differences are the taste and style. Yamachan's tebasaki are a lot more peppery and spicy, whereas Furaibou's are fairly sweet I'd say. As for the style, Yamachan uses whole chicken wings, on the other hand, Furaibo only uses middle part of the wings, hence they're smaller in size.
So who won the tebasaki war? In the sense of spreading all across Japan, Yamachan won the war. You could easily find Yamachan outside the region, especially easy to find in Tokyo. They even expanded to Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia!
My recipe today is more towards the Yamachan's style! But don't forget to try historical Furaibo too if you have chance to come to Nagoya! You most definitely won't regret it!
This recipe is for 8 chicken wings (around 2 portions) served with other sides but it's so good, it's probably best if you double or triple it! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Let's get started!
Check out my video "How to make Nagoya Fried Chicken Wings: Yamachan Tebasaki"!
Step by step recipe
Nagoya Style "Yamachan Tebasaki" Fried Chicken Wings
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 wings 1x
Description
Tasty chicken wings coated in a thin layer of corn starch and then fried at two different temperatures for the ultimate crispy skin, then brushed with a delicious homemade sauce and sprinkled with a mixture of fine white pepper. These Yamachan Tebaski Nagoya Style Chicken Wings (名古屋手羽先) are totally addictive!
Ingredients
Wings
- 8 Chicken Wings
- 1 Pinch Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp Corn Starch
- 1 tbsp Weak flour
- Oil for shallow frying (high smoke point like canola or vegetable oil)
- Fine white pepper for sprinkling
Sauce
Instructions
Sauce
- Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, ½ tbsp honey, ½ tbsp sesame seeds and crush 1 clove of garlic into a small cold pan.
- Mix everything and place the saucepan on the stove.
- With a medium heat, bring the sauce to the boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer until reduced to half.
- When it's reduced and thickened, remove it from the heat and set aside for later.
Wings
- Sprinkle the wings with salt and pepper and rub it over the surface.
- Coat the wings with a mixture of corn starch and weak flour (1 tbsp of each).
- It's time to shallow fry. In a frying pan, add oil so its about 2cm (1 inch) high. Heat your oil to 160°C (320°F), preferably use a thermometer to check the heat accurately. We maintain the temperature on a medium-low setting but all stoves vary so checking with a thermometer is the safest way to be sure.
- Once heated, add the chicken wings and fry for 3 minutes on each side.
- Increase the heat to 190°C (375°F) and fry for 1 minute on each side.
- Remove the chicken wings from the oil and place on a wire rack to allow any excess oil to drip off.
- Take the sauce from earlier and using a pastry brush, apply the sauce generously over both sides of the chicken wings.
- Sprinkle fine white pepper generously over both sides of the chicken wings.
- Serve up and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Shallow Fry
- Cuisine: Japanese
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