Recipe: chicken nanban from the Japanese cookbook YOKO

Christel van Bree and Yoko Inagaki met in Japan when Yoko decided to start cooking for foreign guests. Their new cookbook YOKO offers a unique glimpse into Japanese cuisine and culture. Not only through the delicious dishes, including this Barbarian chicken nanban, but also through beautiful stories and photographs. Through Yoko’s eyes, we see the traditional side of Japan, as well as the modern influences from abroad that have by now become interwoven with the country.

Yoko: “Nanban is an old Japanese term meaning ‘southern barbarian’. Chili peppers, tempura and candied delicacies were introduced to Japan with the arrival of foreign ships. Japanese dishes containing these ingredients are therefore called nanban. Over time, the discriminatory meaning of nanban disappeared, and it simply came to mean something like ‘that which comes from the European culture of old’.

Chicken nanban was not created until the 1950s. It began as a simple staff meal made with leftover karaage; that alone is delicious, but the sweet-and-sour sauce takes it to the next level, especially when combined with rice. I even believe that a bento box with chicken nanban is one of the best inventions for calming down perpetually hungry schoolboys.”

How to make Barbarian chicken nanban

• Make the sauce: boil the eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes. Cool them in cold water, peel them and finely chop the egg whites. (The yolks are not used; save them for another dish.)
• Mix the chopped egg whites with the onion, mayonnaise and pepper. Season with salt.
• Cut the chicken thigh in half lengthwise from the thickest part, then cut each half into slices about 1 centimetre thick. Sprinkle with salt.
• Scatter the flour over a baking tray, place the chicken in it and coat all sides with flour. Shake off the excess flour.
• Beat the egg in a deep plate. Dip the chicken in the egg, making sure all sides are coated. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan or wok over high heat. Place the chicken in the oil. Fry the chicken for 6–7 minutes over medium-high heat until the meat is golden brown. Turn it regularly. Then remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
• Turn off the heat, spoon the oil out of the pan and wipe away any remaining oil with kitchen paper.
• Pour the vinegar, soy sauce, mirin and sugar into the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Taste the sauce and season with a pinch of salt if necessary.
• Brush the chicken with a little of this sauce. Place the chicken on a flat serving dish and pour the rest of the sauce over it.
• Garnish with parsley and lemon if desired, and serve with the egg sauce.

Title: YOKO
Author: Yoko Inagaki and Christel van Bree
Price: €34.99
Publisher: Becht

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