Nagoya Style Fried Chicken Wings

When the Japanese Yakitori restaurant Kokko opened near our home a few years ago, my husband requested to go on nearly every special occasion. One of our family’s favorite items on the menu is their Nagoya-style chicken wings. These are sooooo good!

One order is simply not enough. Every time we order these chicken wings, our family would divide the pieces equally so our children wouldn’t fight over who had more pieces. Since my family loves this dish so much, I knew I had to come up with something similar.

Finally, I was able to come close to duplicating the flavor in my Nagoya-style Fried Chicken Wings recipe! Let me show you how to make these delicious chicken wings at home.

What is Nagoya-Style Fried Chicken Wings?

These fried chicken wings are known as Nagoya no tebasaki in Japanese, or sometimes simply Nagoya tebasaki (wingtips). They’re dredged in starch, twice deep-fried to perfection, and then coated in a sweet soy sauce. It’s a type of Japanese deep-fried chicken or karaage, which is incredibly popular in Japanese cuisine.

The addition of the sweet sauce is referred to as Nagoya-style. This type of preparation was invented by the restaurant Furaibo in Nagoya in central Japan. The salty-sweet sauce is full of umami flavor!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• chicken wings – flats and drumettes
• potato starch or cornstarch
• neutral oil – for deep-frying
• toasted white sesame seeds

For the Sauce

• mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• soy sauce
• sake
• sugar
• kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal brand
• fresh ginger – peeled and sliced
• garlic cloves – crushed or minced

Jump to Recipe

How To Make Nagoya-style Fried Chicken Wings

Here’s a brief overview of how to make these delicious chicken wings. See my recipe card below for the full instructions.

1. Make the sauce. heat all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens. The sauce will thicken as it cools. You can store this sauce in the refrigerator for up to a month.
2. Meanwhile, cut the chicken wings at the joint into flats and drumettes. Pat dry with paper towels.
3. Dredge the chicken pieces in potato starch or cornstarch and remove the excess.
4. Deep-fry the wings in neutral oil on medium heat until they‘re 80% cooked, about 8–10 minutes. Cook in batches. Drain the excess oil for 3–5 minutes on a wire rack or a paper towel on a tray or baking sheet.
5. Then, deep-fry them a second time at a higher oil temperature (increase to medium-high heat) until the wings are crispy and golden brown, about 3–5 minutes.
6. Coat the chicken wings in the sauce using tongs or serve the wings on a plate and pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle with toasted white sesame seeds and serve immediately.

If you prefer some spiciness, feel free to try sprinkling the chicken with white pepper powder or shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice).

Other Chicken Recipes You’ll Love

• Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) and Gluten-Free Karaage
• Yurinchi (Fried Chicken with Scallion Soy Sauce)
• Chicken Nanban (Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce)
• Momofuku Fried Chicken
• Yakitori (Japanese Grilled Chicken and Scallion Skewers)
• Tsukune (Japanese Grilled Chicken Meatball Skewers)

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