Nanban-Chicken (Vinaigrette Chicken)



As I was flipping through the pages of the cookbook "Essentially Japanese" by Hideo Dekura, I stopped at page 191 which featured a recipe for Vinaigrette Chicken (or Nanban-Chicken as commonly known in Japan). The words vinaigrette got my tastebuds tingling and my mouth watering as I could imagine eating succulent pieces of deep-fried chicken soaked in the sweet, tangy and spicy dressing (or sauce). I had never had this dish before, although once I ate it, it tasted very familiar, like something that would have been served as a side dish in one of those bento boxes.

I enjoyed the combination of the sauce made from rice vinegar, sake, soy and sugar, with onions and chopped chillies, which was used to "marinade" or steep the fried chicken in before serving. This allowed the flavours to be well-absorbed into the outer layer of the chicken. I was surprised that with so much vinegar in the sauce, it wasn't as acidic or sour as I thought it would be, but then again, a lot of sake went into making the sauce too.  A generous squeeze of lemon juice adds an element of freshness and slight tartness to the dish. I reckon this is fantastic served with either white rice or simply as an appetizer. Add more chillies if you prefer more heat!

Nanban-Chicken (Vinaigrette Chicken)
Adapted from Essentially Japanese by Hideo Dekura

Ingredients

2 small white/brown onions, peeled and thinly sliced into rings
150ml (2/3 cup) rice vinegar
250ml (1 cup) sake
30ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1-2 red chillies (or bird's eye chillies if you like), de-seeded and thinly sliced

1 tbsp sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated ginger
Pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
Sansho, to taste (optional)
600g (1 1/4 lb) chicken thigh fillets
1-2 tbsp potato starch (or substitute with cornstarch)
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

  1. Soak onion in water for 30 minutes, then drain.
  2. In a pan, boil vinegar and sake to evaporate the alcohol (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add soy sauce, sugar and chilli. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add onion and set aside as marinade.
  3. Mix sake, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, salt, pepper and sansho in a bowl. Cut chicken into 2 inch pieces and combine thoroughly with the mixture. Set aside to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
  4. Heat up oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Gradually add potato starch to the eggs and whisk together.* Dip chicken into the batter and deep-fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked.
  5. Drain the chicken on a wire rack or absorbent paper. Place chicken in the marinade prepared in Step 2 above, for about 15 minutes.
  6. Serve with lemon wedges.
* Note: In Step 4, I found it difficult mixing the egg and potato starch together. As an alternative, you can mix the eggs into the chicken first, and then sprinkle potato starch over it and mix again. Let any excess batter/egg drip off before placing the chicken into the hot oil.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Light and fluffy Ricotta Cheesecake (with homemade ricotta)

Image
I made ricotta cheese. Did you not know you could do that, with only 3 ingredients in less than 10 minutes! And all with curds and whey, I felt like Little Miss Muffet now waiting for a spider to pounce at me. So why make ricotta? Apparently, homemade ricotta gives the cheesecake a fluffier texture, and it did turn out to be light, fluffy and creamy, with a subtle taste of ricotta. I used a gingernut biscuit base just to add some flavour and texture, although you can omit that to make a crustless version. This is not a very sweet cake, unlike your typical New York cheesecake. It's probably closer to a Japanese cheesecake except for the fine graininess of the ricotta. If you like, you can serve it with some berry coulis to satisfy that sweet tooth. I find that the cake tastes best after it has "matured" for up to 3 days in the fridge. The flavours seem to have developed and the texture is somehow creamier too. Ricotta in the making Homemade Ricotta Adapted from Smitten Kit...
Read more

Malaysian Satay Recipe

Image
  Mention the word "satay" and I am instantly reminded of my childhood years and years ago, how the Malay Satay Man would peddle his mobile satay stall on his bicycle in my neighbourhood, tooting his horn. Sometimes, I could even smell the aroma from my house, even though he could be grilling his satay down the road. I would get all excited at the prospect of having satay for dinner, and run to the window to see if I could detect any "smoke" signals in the sky. He made one of the best satays in town, and the fact that he peddled his stall around the neighbourhood meant that we could walk up to him with empty plates and bowls waiting to be filled with freshly made satay. Those were the simple things in life back then, though coming from a foodie family, food was and is a big deal, as to most Malaysians of course. Malaysian Satay is such a luxury item in Sydney. I don't think I've ever ordered satay here before, not when I know it costs multiple times less bac...
Read more

The Ultimate Pad Thai Recipe

Image
I was pretty excited when I saw that Lorraine  had posted this wonderful recipe for Pad Thai on her blog. The photos simply said it all. The almost deep and rich orange hue of the noodles was the sign of a winner and it's as authentic as it gets. None of the dry, pale-looking noodles with dry chunks of chicken meat and scattering of chives, egg and tofu that I usually get in Sydney. For the record, I never order pad thai though Mr TFWL likes to always give it a chance. My preference is still to order pad kee mao (my favourite pad kee mao is from Pom's Thai in Burwood, now Strathfield). Anyway, this is how I like my pad thai - saucy and moist noodles with the right balance of sweet and sour from the tamarind and palm sugar, with saucy bits of egg crumble tossed through the noodles. Notice the key word is saucy. Loving this pad thai sauce and if you make a big batch of it, the rest of the preparation and cooking is a breeze (well, almost!). Thanks  Lorraine  for the recipe!...
Read more