Nagoya style Tebasaki Chicken Wings

Nagoya style Tebasaki Chicken Wings

Why not treat yourself to an authentic Nagoya specialty? Tebasaki are fried chicken wings without any breading, tossed in a delicious sweet and spicy soy sauce, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Easy to make and they can be enjoyed as a snack you can enjoy during the big game or as appetizer that goes great with any meal.

Appetizers Chicken Japanese

Nagoya, which sits in the central part of Japan, and also current home to yours truly, features an amazing array of dishes that are famous all over Japan and beyond. Lucy at byfood.com wrote a wonderful blog about Nagoya cuisine that is well worth checking out.

Nagoya-style wings are called Tebasaki and they actually come in two styles, which are named after the shops where they originated.

Furaibo style Tebasaki is made with the center portion of the chicken wing. The wings are double fried without any coating, tossed in a sweet sauce, and topped with sesame seeds. Yamachan style Tebasaki used the center and tip of the wing, the wings are coated with cornstarch before frying, the sauce contains lots of pepper and there are no sesame seeds on top. Neither style used the drumettes portion of the wing- but check out my recipe for Buffalo Chicken Wings if you have a craving for drumettes. This recipe is for Furaibo-style wings. Yamachan just require a few tweaks so check out the notes if you want to cook up a batch!

These tasty wings can be eaten by the dozen and go great with a beer or as an appetizer. They are super easy to prepare and the sauce is sweet, delicious, and goes a long way.

Nagoya Tebasaki, Furaibo Style

Nagoya style Tebasaki Chicken Wings

Tebasaki chicken wings are fried but not breaded. The way this is achieved is by frying the chicken wings twice- once at low heat and then after a resting period, they are fried a second time at high heat. The wings come out a perfect golden brown. They are them tossed in the sauce while still hot, sesame seed are sprinkled over them, and they are immediately served. The sauce is sweet and salty and the wings go down perfectly with a cold drink. Enjoy this Nagoya specialty!

PREP	COOKING	YIELD
10 mins	20 mins	2 servings of 8 wings

PREP	10 mins
COOKING	20 mins
YIELD	2 servings of 8 wings

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (about 16) chicken wingettes – the central piece with tips and drumettes removed
1 TBSP Sugar
2 TBSP cooking sake
1 TBSP mirin
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp fresh grated garlic
Cooking Oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 TBSP roasted white sesame seeds

Instructions:

Pat the chicken dry

Preheat oil to 320 degs F/160 degs C
Combine the soy, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan. Heat while whisking to dissolve sugar. Set the sauce aside.

Fry the chicken wings for 5 minutes. Drain over paper towels or on a rack. Cook in two batches.
Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before starting the second frying.

Raise the heat of the oil to 360 degs F/180 degs C while waiting.
Fry the chicken for 3 minutes until golden brown.

Toss the chicken in the sauce.

Lay the chicken out skin side down. Drizzle sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve hot with cabbage on the side.

Notes:

For Yamachan-style wings, make the following modifications to the recipe:
- Do not remove the wing tip
- Dredge the wings in cornstarch before the first frying
- Reduce sugar to 1 tsp in the sauce
- Add 2 tsps of crushed black pepper to the sauce
- Do not top with sesame seeds

Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.

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Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.