Nagoya Tebasaki (Sweet Soy Chicken Wings)
Wings dusted in potato starch, fried twice, coated in a sweet soy, mirin, garlic and ginger glaze and finished with sesame seeds and pepper, the bar snack Nagoya is famous for.
Tebasaki, chicken wings in a sweet sauce with sesame, is one of the dishes of Nagoya meshi, the regional cooking of Nagoya and the surrounding Chūkyō area (Wikipedia:). Just One Cookbook describes Nagoya-style wings as starch-dredged, fried twice and coated in sweet soy sauce, and credits the Nagoya restaurant Furaibo with inventing them. Japanese food site macaro-ni dates Furaibo to 1963 (Showa 38) and counts more than 80 shops, some overseas (October 5, 2018:). GIGAZINE calls Furaibo the first restaurant in Japan to come up with fried tebasaki, and describes its other house dish, "Tarzan-yaki", made from half a chicken (April 24, 2010:). Its big rival is Sekai no Yamachan, which says it was founded on June 14, 1980, in a 13-seat shop in Shinsakae, Nagoya, and created its "maboroshi no tebasaki" (phantom chicken wings) in 1995 to draw attention to wings, which were not yet popular. Food writers in our searches describe Furaibo's wings as sweeter and Yamachan's as peppery and spicy.
Why it works the kitchen science
Two fries
The low first fry cooks the meat through gently; the hotter second fry drives off moisture so the starch crust turns glassy and stays crisp under the glaze.
A reduced glaze
Simmering the mirin, soy and sugar to a syrup means a thin coat sticks to every piece instead of soaking the crust.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the sauce: bring all the sauce ingredients except the salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then lower the heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until reduced and syrupy. Taste, add the salt if it needs it, and set aside; it thickens as it cools.
- Step 2
Pat the wings very dry. Dredge them in the starch and shake off the excess.
- Step 3
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat to 320°F. Fry the wings in batches 8 to 10 minutes, until pale and about 80% cooked. Drain on a wire rack 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Raise the oil to 350°F. Fry the wings again in batches 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp and golden brown and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Step 5
While each batch is hot, toss it with a few spoonfuls of sauce, or plate the wings and spoon the sauce over.
- Step 6
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and white pepper or shichimi and serve right away.
Nagoya Tebasaki (Sweet Soy Chicken Wings)
Serves 3 (as a main; 6 to 8 as a snack) · about 16 wing pieces; the sauce batch makes extra (it keeps about a month) · 1 hr total
Sauce (makes extra)
- 1 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sake
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (add near the end, see Tips)
- 1/2-inch knob fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Wings
- 2 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes, tips removed
- 1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
- Neutral oil, about 2 inches deep (about 6 cups), for frying
To finish
- 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp white pepper or shichimi togarashi
Method
- Make the sauce: bring all the sauce ingredients except the salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then lower the heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until reduced and syrupy. Taste, add the salt if it needs it, and set aside; it thickens as it cools.
- Pat the wings very dry. Dredge them in the starch and shake off the excess.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat to 320°F. Fry the wings in batches 8 to 10 minutes, until pale and about 80% cooked. Drain on a wire rack 3 to 5 minutes.
- Raise the oil to 350°F. Fry the wings again in batches 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp and golden brown and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- While each batch is hot, toss it with a few spoonfuls of sauce, or plate the wings and spoon the sauce over.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and white pepper or shichimi and serve right away.
Adapted from Just One Cookbook, "Nagoya-Style Fried Chicken Wings" by Namiko Hirasawa Chen (updated February 5, 2025). JOC fries 1 lb of wings for 4 snack servings and says its sauce covers up to 2 lb; we use 2 lb and double the starch, and keep the sauce batch as written. The 165°F check is from USDA FSIS. Furaibo's and Yamachan's sauces are secret; this is a home version. Just One Cookbook. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- A JOC reader found the sauce too salty with the salt added at the start; add it at the end, only if needed.
- Leftover sauce keeps about a month in the refrigerator and makes a good marinade for beef or chicken (JOC readers).
- For Yamachan-style heat, finish with plenty of coarsely ground black pepper.
- Tebasaki are eaten as a bar snack with beer; Furaibo serves them with eating instructions at the table (search summaries only).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Furaibo invented tebasaki. Disputed: Just One Cookbook, GIGAZINE and many Japanese food sites credit it, but most say "it is said" rather than citing a record; Yamachan, not Furaibo, is often the better-known name.
- Furaibo opened in 1963. Documented as the restaurant's own founding year, repeated by macaro-ni; we did not see a primary record.
- Wings were only used for soup before tebasaki. Folklore: Japanese food sites in our searches tell it as the founder's story; not confirmed.
- Yamachan's founding year. Disputed: its own site says June 14, 1980; search summaries of other guides give 1981 or 1965.
- Tebasaki must be fried twice. Folklore: JOC fries twice; it is a technique, not a law.
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