Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮)

The tartar sauce situation was not what I expected.

I expected a drizzle. A polite zigzag across the top, the way you get on a nice piece of fish. What arrived was a snowdrift. A generous, heaped, frankly excessive mound of thick, egg-rich, slightly sweet homemade tartar sauce that covered the chicken almost completely. I stared at it for a second. Then I ate it. Then I ordered another one before I was halfway through the first.

Chikin nanban (チキン南蛮) is Miyazaki's fried chicken: thigh meat, battered and deep-fried until properly golden, then immediately dunked in nanban sauce — a sharp-sweet blend of soy, vinegar, and sugar — and finished under that legendary tartar. The combination sounds like too much. It is exactly enough. The vinegar cuts through the fat, the tartar adds richness and body, and the chicken stays crispy under it all because you eat it immediately and you do not stop.

The restaurant war that made this dish famous

Chikin nanban was invented in Nobeoka, Miyazaki in the 1960s — and the origin story is a genuine local dispute that has never been resolved. Two restaurants, Nakatsu-ya and Ogura, both claim to have created the dish, and their versions are meaningfully different. Nakatsu-ya serves the original: sweet vinegar sauce only, no tartar. Ogura added the tartar sauce and spread that version across Miyazaki as a chain. Japan chose sides. Ogura's tartar version became the standard, the one that spread nationwide and defined what "chicken nanban" means to most people. Nakatsu-ya's purists maintain that the original is the real thing.

Both are worth eating. Both are excellent. The argument gives the dish a mythology it deserves.

The name nanban (南蛮, "southern barbarian") refers to the Portuguese and Spanish traders who introduced vinegar-based preparations to Japan in the 16th century. The same word appears in nanban-zuke (vinegar-pickled fish) and tōgarashi nanban (chili pepper). The connection is the sharp, foreign-influenced vinegar hit.

What makes the tartar different

Miyazaki chicken nanban tartar is not mayonnaise with relish. It's made fresh — hard-boiled egg chopped rough, pickles, sometimes onion, sometimes parsley, bound with mayonnaise but not drowned in it. The result is thick, textured, slightly sweet, and genuinely rich rather than just fatty. Every shop has its own recipe and guards it accordingly.

The chicken itself matters too: thigh over breast, always. Thigh stays juicy through the fry and the nanban soak. The batter is light — just enough to give the vinegar something to cling to. The sequence is critical: fry → soak while hot → tartar → serve immediately. The vinegar penetrates when the chicken is still steaming. By the time it hits your table, the flavors have already married.

How it's made

1. Marinate chicken thigh in soy and sake briefly; coat lightly in flour and egg
2. Deep-fry until deep golden — fully cooked through, proper crust
3. While still hot, transfer directly to nanban sauce (soy, rice vinegar, sugar, mirin) and soak for 30 seconds to a minute
4. Plate and immediately pile tartar sauce on top — generously
5. Serve at once; do not let it sit

Before you go — get the thigh

Your questions, answered honestly

"Is it spicy?" — Not typically. Nanban in the name refers to the vinegar preparation, not chili heat. Some shops add a little shichimi on the tartar, but base chicken nanban is sweet-sour-rich, not spicy.

"Which version is better — tartar or no tartar?" — This is a Miyazaki debate you're now part of. The tartar version is what most people know and love. Try both if you're in Nobeoka. Everywhere else, tartar is the default and it's wonderful.

"Can I find this in Tokyo?" — Yes — Miyazaki has dedicated izakayas in major cities. But nothing matches eating it in Miyazaki itself where the chicken is local, the tartar is housemade, and the portions are frankly unreasonable.

"What's in the tartar sauce?" — Hard-boiled egg, pickles (usually sweet), onion, mayo. Every shop's recipe differs. The house tartar is the point of pride.

What the staff will ask you

To order, just say "Chikin nanban kudasai" (チキン南蛮ください) — "Chicken nanban, please."

Where to eat it

• Ogura (おぐら) — the chain that made tartar-style chicken nanban famous. Multiple locations across Miyazaki.
• Nakatsu-ya (直ちゃん) — Nobeoka. The original, no-tartar version. Worth the pilgrimage for context.
• Miyazaki izakayas, nationwide — any Miyazaki-specialty izakaya in Tokyo or Osaka will have a solid version; it's the dish they lead with.