Chef Takumi
Hire-katsu (ヒレカツ, pork filet cutlet)
Lean tenderloin, thick rounds, fresh panko, and steady oil. Hire-katsu gives you tonkatsu's pleasure with a cleaner bite, tender inside and crisp outside, without making a ceremony of frying.
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Chef Takumi
Nakatsu no Karaage (中津の唐揚げ, Nakatsu-style fried chicken)
Nakatsu's karaage is thigh meat treated with patience: a soy, garlic, and ginger marinade, potato starch for a dry crackle, and a second fry that gives the crust its nerve.
Chef Takumi
Ika no Tempura (いかの天ぷら)
Squid tempura looks like a test of courage, but it asks for only three honest things: fresh squid, dry surfaces, and the nerve to pull it before it toughens.
Chef Takumi
Sansai Tempura (山菜の天ぷら, mountain vegetable tempura)
Spring sansai need little ceremony: cold batter, lively oil, and salt on the side. Keep the coating pale and thin so the wild greens stay clean, bitter, sweet, and bright.
Chef Takumi
Korokke (コロッケ, potato croquette)
Korokke is mashed potato made brave: browned pork and onion folded in, panko pressed on firmly, and a short fry that gives you a crisp shell and tender middle.
Chef Takumi
Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮)
Chicken Nanban is not a difficult fry. Keep the chicken juicy, dip it while hot in sweet vinegar, then let the tartar bring brightness, not disguise.
Chef Takumi
Anago no Tempura (穴子の天ぷら, sea eel tempura)
A whole anago looks like a test of nerve. It is mostly good sourcing, a dry skin, cold batter, and oil hot enough to leave the eel sweet under its lace.
Chef Takumi
Temple-Kitchen Vegetable Fry (精進揚げ, Shōjin-age)
Shōjin-age is tempura stripped to its quietest form: vegetables at their prime, an eggless batter, clean oil, and a dipping sauce built from konbu and shiitake.
Chef Takumi
Nagoya Miso Pork Cutlet (味噌カツ, Miso-katsu)
Nagoya's cutlet is crisp panko, clean pork, and a dark Hatchō miso tare thinned with dashi just enough to glaze, not bury, the crust beneath it.
Chef Takumi
Sanzoku-yaki (山賊焼, Nagano fried thigh)
A whole chicken thigh, soy-dark and fragrant with garlic, fried flat under a crisp potato-starch coat. Sanzoku-yaki looks rowdy, but the method is plain mountain generosity.
Chef Takumi
Chicken Katsu (チキンカツ)
Chicken katsu is the weeknight cutlet: even chicken thigh, dry panko, clean oil, and the patience to fry it until the crust is gold and the meat stays juicy.
Chef Takumi
Tonkatsu (とんかつ, breaded pork cutlet)
Tonkatsu is not a fry-shop trick. Good pork, dry panko, steady oil, and a short rest give you a cutlet that stays juicy under a clean, crisp coat.
Chef Takumi
Kabocha Korokke (かぼちゃコロッケ, pumpkin croquette)
Kabocha korokke looks like a frying project, but the real decision is earlier: choose sweet autumn squash, dry the mash well, then let the panko do its quiet work.
Chef Takumi
Soy-Ginger Fried Mackerel (鯖の竜田揚げ, Saba no Tatsuta-age)
Tatsuta-age makes good mackerel easy to trust: soy and ginger season it plainly, potato starch seals the surface, and a short fry leaves the fish crisp outside and tender within.
Chef Takumi
Kaki Fry (カキフライ, oyster fry)
Kaki fry is cold-month comfort: oysters cleaned carefully, wrapped in panko, and fried just long enough for a crisp coat and a hot, sweet center.
Chef Takumi
Menchi-katsu (メンチカツ, minced cutlet)
Cold minced pork, softened onion, and a sure panko coat make the butcher-shop cutlet a home dish: juicy inside, crisp outside, with sauce on the side and nothing to hide.
Chef Takumi
Yasai Tempura Moriawase (野菜の天ぷら盛り合わせ)
Vegetable tempura is not a restaurant trick. Keep the batter cold, the oil steady, and fry the slow vegetables first, the tender leaves last.
Chef Takumi
Aomori Squid Patties (イカメンチ, Ika-menchi)
Aomori's ika-menchi is thrift with a clean crackle: chopped squid, cabbage, and onion fried into small patties, sweet from the vegetables, springy from the squid, and honest beside rice.
Chef Takumi
Aji Fry (アジフライ, panko-fried horse mackerel)
Aji fry is weeknight fish with no mystery: fresh horse mackerel opened cleanly, breaded lightly, and fried until the panko crackles while the flesh stays sweet.
Chef Takumi
Kōya-dōfu Karaage (高野豆腐の唐揚げ, fried freeze-dried tofu)
Kōya-dōfu looks like a dry sponge and behaves like a clever one: give it good dashi, season it plainly, then fry it until the outside turns crisp and golden.
Chef Takumi
Kisu no Tempura (キスの天ぷら, sand whiting tempura)
Kisu is the quiet fish on a tempura plate: small, sweet, and best in summer, opened neatly so the flesh cooks before the batter has time to grow heavy.
Chef Takumi
Ebi no Tempura (海老の天ぷら)
Shrimp tempura is not a restaurant trick. Keep the batter cold, the oil hot, and fry one piece at a time until each shrimp turns pale gold and light.
Chef Takumi
Toriten (とり天, Ōita chicken tempura)
Toriten is Ōita's bright answer to fried chicken: seasoned chicken in a thin tempura coat, crisp at the edges, tender inside, and sharpened at the table with ponzu and karashi.
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