Nagoya Tebasaki (手羽先, glazed fried chicken wings)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy deep pot or donabe-safe frying pot
• •Frying thermometer
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Long cooking chopsticks or tongs
• •Small brush for tare, or a wide mixing bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the wings

   Pat the wings very dry, then sprinkle them with the salt and leave them on a rack for 15 minutes. The salt seasons the meat and draws a little moisture to the surface. Pat them dry again, because water is the enemy of crisp skin and makes the oil spit like an angry teacher.

   Good tebasaki begins before the oil. Dry skin fries cleanly; wet skin steams against the oil and stays soft.
2. 2

   Make the tare

   Put the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a small pan. Bring it to a lively simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the sugar dissolves and the sauce looks glossy. Do not reduce it to a thick syrup. A thin tare clings lightly; a heavy one smothers the skin.

3. 3

   Dust lightly

   Dust the wings with the potato starch, then shake off almost all of it. You should barely see it. The starch gives the skin a dry surface and a little crackle, but too much turns the dish into karaage, which is a good thing and not this thing.

4. 4

   First fry

   Heat the oil to 160 C. Fry the wings in batches for 6 to 7 minutes, moving them gently once or twice, until the skin is pale golden and the meat is cooked through. This first fry is for cooking the chicken without darkening the outside too fast.

   Crowding drops the oil temperature and gives you heavy wings. Fry in small batches and let the oil return to temperature between them.
5. 5

   Rest briefly

   Lift the wings to a rack and rest them for 5 minutes while the oil rises to 180 C. Resting is not laziness. It lets the surface moisture move outward, so the second fry can drive it off and tighten the skin.

6. 6

   Second fry

   Fry the wings again at 180 C for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden and audibly crisp when nudged with tongs. Drain them on a rack, not paper towels. A rack keeps air moving around the skin; paper traps moisture underneath.

7. 7

   Glaze and season

   While the wings are still hot, brush them lightly with the tare or toss them quickly in a bowl with just enough glaze to shine. Sprinkle at once with the sesame seeds and plenty of black pepper. The hot skin grabs the seasoning, and the pepper cuts the sweetness before it becomes heavy.

8. 8

   Serve at once

   Pile the wings in a small, uneven stack, not a mountain, and serve immediately. If you have lemon, offer a wedge on the side rather than squeezing it over everything. Let each cook at the table decide; the tare has already done its work.

Chef Tips

• •Choose wings with plump skin and no sour smell, and cook them the day you buy them if you can. Sourcing first, always. Old chicken under sweet sauce is still old chicken.
• •Use potato starch only as a whisper. Nagoya tebasaki should eat like crisp skin with glaze, not like battered fried chicken.
• •Grind the black pepper fresh and use more than feels polite. The pepper is the Nagoya signature here, the sharp edge that keeps the tare honest.
• •If you don't deep-fry often, use a heavy pot and a thermometer. The number matters less than recovery: wait for the oil to come back up before each batch.

Advance Preparation

• •The tare can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before using so it brushes on thinly.
• •The wings can be salted and left uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. This dries the skin and improves the fry.
• •Do not glaze the wings ahead. Fry, glaze, and pepper them just before serving, or the skin softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)