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    Home » Recipes » Best

    Updated: Apr 24, 2023 by Marc Matsumoto · 42 Comments

    Tebasaki (Japanese Chicken Wings)

    These Nagoya-style Tebasaki (Japanese chicken wings) have shatteringly crisp skin, coated in a savory-sweet glaze that's redolent of garlic, ginger, and black pepper.
    Recipe Video Pin
    Secrets to making the crispiest wings ever! Glazed in a sweet and savory sauce that's loaded with ginger, garlic and black pepper this Tebasaki recipe is dangerously addictive.
    What is Tebasaki?

    Tebasaki(手羽先) literally translates to "wingtips" and refers to the cut of chicken as well as a specific dish that's made with them. The dish hails from Nagoya and is made by glazing crisp fried wings in a sweet and savory sauce.

    Unlike the other Japanese fried chicken, Tebasaki is always made with bone-in chicken wings, has no breading, and is seasoned after it's fried. Despite the absence of any significant crust, the wings end up rice cracker crisp thanks to a double-dip into the fryer. Think of these as the Japanese cousin of Buffalo wings, and Korean fried chicken.

    How do you get chicken wings crispy?

    Getting something crispy without batter or breading and keeping them crispy after a dunk in a sauce is no easy feat, but there are a few techniques you can use to get restaurant-quality results without a commercial fryer. If you've ever worked on making crispy french fries, you already know a few of the tricks to make chicken wings crispy.

    The thing that you've got going for you is that chicken wings are covered in skin, which is mostly fat and collagen. As the chicken fries, the fat renders out, and the collagen puffs up and crisps. This is how cracklins are made from pig skin. But before any of this magic can happen, you need to get rid of the water in the surface of the chicken.

    There are a couple of steps to achieve this, and it starts by salting the chicken and letting it rest. This causes any excess moisture to leech out of the skin, thanks to osmosis. The next thing you want to do is to use paper towels to thoroughly dry the surface of the wings, before frying them.

    Then, you want to double fry the chicken. The first fry is done at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, which allows the moisture to evenly escape from the chicken. Then, the wings are removed from the oil and left to rest while the temperature of the oil is raised. While the chicken rests, the moisture remaining in the center of the chicken spreads out into the crisp outer layers until it eventually reaches equilibrium. Then, when you fry it again at a higher temperature, you're able to quickly vaporize that moisture, which puffs up the skin for a lasting crispness. Tebasaki, or Japanese-style buffalo wings are ultra-crisp on the outside and glazed with a sweet and savory sauce that's loaded with garlic, ginger, and black pepper.

    What goes into Tebasaki sauce?

    The sweet and savory glaze used to coat tebasaki makes for a delicious condiment. The base is similar to teriyaki sauce, but it's flavored-up with ginger and garlic and boiled until it's nice and thick. Then, a splash of black vinegar gets thrown in at the very end to add just a hint of balancing tartness that keeps the sweetness in check. While it doesn't go directly into the sauce, I love adding loads of black pepper as I toss the chicken in the sauce, which not only gives it a spicy kick, it also adds a marvelous fragrance.

    How do you get the sauce to stick to chicken wings?

    By coating the chicken wings in a very thin layer of potato starch, it gives the sauce something to cling to without creating a noticeable crust that can get in the way of the skin.

    How do you sauce chicken wings without making the skin soggy?

    The trick is to dunk the wings in the glaze as they come out of the hot oil. This does two things. The first is that there's still hot steam escaping from the chicken, preventing too much glaze from seeping into the crust and making it soggy. The second is that the hot wing caramelizes some of the sauce around the chicken, giving it a ton of flavor without soaking up much moisture from the sauce.

    Can Tebasaki be made in advance?

    If you don't pile the wings too high, these wings will retain their crispness for at least half an hour, but nothing beats the crispness of the wings hot out of the fryer. That's why if I'm serving these at a party, I'll do the first fry ahead of time, and then do the second fry just before I serve them.

    That being said, these are still very good at room temperature, or even cold out of the fridge, which makes leftovers a wonderful addition to a bento box lunch. Ultra-crisp tebasaki chicken wings are the perfect game-day snack with their garlicky sweet and savory glaze that's loaded with black pepper.

    What do you serve with Tebasaki?

    Beer! Seriously, beer and tebasaki are such a good match; it might even turn a beer hater into a beer lover. Other than that, you often see tebasaki served with tender cabbage leaves, but other veggies like cucumbers or celery sticks should go great with them. You can also experiment with topping the tebasaki with things like shichimi togarashi or sansho pepper for a little variation.

    📖 Recipe

    Secrets to making the crispiest wings ever! Glazed in a sweet and savory sauce that's loaded with ginger, garlic and black pepper this Tebasaki recipe is dangerously addictive.

    Tebasaki (Japanese Chicken Wings)

    By: Marc Matsumoto
    4.54 from 15 votes
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Yield 4 servings

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 800 grams chicken wings
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ cup evaporated cane sugar (packed)
    • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
    • ⅓ cup sake
    • 1 teaspoon ginger juice (grate the ginger and squeeze out juice)
    • 4 grams garlic (~1 medium clove, grated)
    • 1 tablespoon black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
    • 1 tablespoon potato starch
    • vegetable oil (for frying)
    • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

    Instructions

    • Put the chicken wings in a single layer on a tray and sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper.
      Salt and black pepper on chicken wings.
    • Toss the chicken to coat evenly refrigerate while you prepare the other ingredients.
      Salting chicken wings removes excess moisture making them easier to crisp.
    • Make the glaze by putting the sugar, soy sauce, sake, ginger juice, and garlic in a shallow pan. Heat over medium-high heat until the glaze starts to thicken. You can tell when it's ready when the bubbles get big and shiny.
      Tebasaki sauce boiling.
    • Add the vinegar, and then transfer to a large bowl and allow the glaze to cool.
      Finished Tebasaki sauce going into a bowl to glaze chicken wings.
    • Add about 2-inches of vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed pot and heat to 320 degrees F (160C).
      Preheating frying oil.
    • Take the chicken out of the fridge and use paper towels to remove as much moisture from the surface of the chicken as possible. Sprinkle on the potato starch and toss the wings to evenly coat each piece with a thin layer of starch.
      Coating chicken wings with potato starch allows the sauce to adhere to them.
    • Fry the chicken wings for 10 minutes in batches. Transfer to a plate and continue frying the rest of the wings.
      Deep frying chicken wings.
    • Increase the heat of the oil to 375 degrees F (190C). Fry the chicken in smaller batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. The chicken is done when the wings are golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).
      Double frying chicken wings makes them ultra crisp.
    • Transfer the wings directly to the bowl of glaze and quickly toss to coat.
      Coating Japanese fried chicken wings with Tebasaki sauce.
    • Sprinkle on some toasted sesame seeds and black pepper to taste and toss again. Don't let the wings sit in the glaze for too long.
      Tebasaki garnished with sesame seeds and black pepper.
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    Nutrition

    Calories 343kcalCarbohydrates 18gProtein 22gFat 18gSaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 83mgSodium 1129mgPotassium 235mgFiber 1gSugar 14gVitamin A 159IUVitamin C 1mgCalcium 37mgIron 2mg

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Nadia says

      October 12, 2021 at 6:45 pm

      I made these but altered the frying method - shallow frying (according to the recipe) immediately followed by an air fryer at 180 °C for 10 minutes. It worked wonderfully! I couldn’t stop eating them 😅

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        October 12, 2021 at 10:09 pm

        Hi Nadia, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this, and thanks for sharing your method!

        Reply
    2. Dani says

      November 24, 2019 at 9:16 pm

      In the instructions for the sauce one of the ingredients is mirin but I don’t see it in the ingredient list. How much is supposed to be added? This recipe sounds amazing so I want to be sure to get it right!!

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        November 25, 2019 at 12:22 am

        Hi Dani, sorry about that. I had mirin in there in a past iteration of this recipe, but dropped it in the most recent revision as most mirin out there is fake (i.e. grain alcohol, sugar, and additives). It's fixed now.

        Reply
    3. Edel says

      November 19, 2019 at 8:42 am

      Wonder could they be made in the air fryer

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        November 19, 2019 at 9:45 am

        Hi Edel, if you left enough space between the wings so that the air could circulate it could work in theory, but air is never going to conduct heat as evenly or as efficiently as a liquid, so you're likely to get some uneven browning and the chicken itself may end up chewy before you're able to get the skin fully crisp.

        Reply
    4. Tetsuooo says

      July 12, 2019 at 2:58 pm

      Made this, excellent recipe/very delicious! I just put grated ginger in the sauce, and strained out the solids before coating the wings.

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        July 15, 2019 at 8:09 am

        Hi Tetsuooo, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Good call straining out the solids!

        Reply
    5. JuneL says

      July 02, 2019 at 7:32 pm

      These turned out fantastically! I used to live in Nagoya and loved Yamachan's Tebasaki! This brought back great memories of beer and wings 👍

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        July 02, 2019 at 8:13 pm

        Hi June, I'm so glad to hear they turned out well! Thanks for dropping by to let me know😄

        Reply
    6. drew says

      May 30, 2019 at 9:58 pm

      where to put black vinegar

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        May 31, 2019 at 10:10 am

        Hi Drew, it's explained at the end of step 2.

        Reply
    7. Maurício says

      May 07, 2019 at 8:55 pm

      Morei no Japão durante 18 anos na cidade de Nagoya no bairro de Minato -ku e o Tebasaki de lá é realmente muito bom.....parabéns pela dica...essa receita irá fazer algumas pessoas viajarem para o Japão na cidade de Nagoya.

      Reply
    8. Marc Matsumoto says

      September 23, 2016 at 12:19 am

      Hi Roland, great call! If you ever have your brown sugar harden again, try putting it in a ziplock bag along with a damp paper towel. It should be back to normal within a day.

      Reply
    9. Roland Li says

      September 20, 2016 at 9:42 pm

      One day I found my brown sugar hardened and substituted it with maple syrup and it came out even better! I have been making this dish with that alteration ever since.

      Reply
    10. Marc Matsumoto says

      September 19, 2015 at 2:07 am

      Hi Jaysn, thanks for your note. I don't do copy-cat recipes, so these are not supposed to taste like Yama-chan. If you'd like for them to be less sweet, you can cut back on the sugar in the sauce.

      Reply
    11. Jaysn says

      September 18, 2015 at 3:30 pm

      Hi, I tried your recipe but I think it was more on the sweet side. I was expecting it to taste more like Nagoya's famous Yama-chan tebasaki. Is this supposed to taste like that? If yes, then I might have made a mistake. Hmm..

      Reply
    12. Marc Matsumoto says

      March 08, 2015 at 10:17 am

      Any of the above will work. I used a Japanese Kurozu, but Chinese or Balsamic will give the same effect.

      Reply
    13. Melissa says

      March 08, 2015 at 6:03 am

      Great. I'll definitely give an update once I make this. One question, though. The black vinegar - do you mean something along the line of Chinese black vinegar or Kurozu? Most likely, I'll probably use the balsamic vinegar I have in my pantry, but I was wondering...

      Reply
    14. Marc Matsumoto says

      March 06, 2015 at 12:48 pm

      Hi Melissa, I haven't tried Ippudo's wings, but I googled it and it looks like it's their version of tebasaki. I can't say this is going to taste exactly the same since I've never had there's but it's a sweet and savoury sauce with lots of black pepper. Let us know how it compares if you give it a go.

      Reply
    15. Melissa says

      March 04, 2015 at 10:47 pm

      Wondering, but is this similar to the Ippudo's Hirata chicken? I love the black pepper sauce that they use and the cabbage wedge that accompanies the chicken wings. I love the chicken as well, but that sauce with the cabbage was a nice surprise. I would love to replicate the black pepper sauce (as well as the chicken).

      Reply
    16. Marc Matsumoto says

      February 07, 2015 at 12:05 am

      Hi Riaallende, you could use a 50/50 mixture of sake and maltose (rice sugar) or corn syrup to replace the mirin.

      Reply
    17. Riaallende says

      February 06, 2015 at 11:55 pm

      Could I skip the mirin or would that completely change the flavor? Or maybe add more sake to replace it??

      Reply
    18. Janice L says

      February 06, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      I have to say I love this site - I've been making your pan-fried teriyaki for over a year now and I can do it with my eyes closed, and today's the first time I've tried something other than that and it turned out great. Thanks so much for this, I can't wait to slowly expand my repertoire courtesy of norecipes!

      Reply
    19. Marc Matsumoto says

      August 05, 2014 at 8:00 pm

      Hi skeeter, cornstarch fries up with a different texture so I would not recommend it.— Sent from Mailbox

      Reply
    20. Skeeter says

      August 05, 2014 at 5:43 pm

      Question: Can you use Corn Starch in place of Potato Starch in the recipe?

      Reply
    21. Bev says

      June 28, 2014 at 11:34 pm

      Can you premake the wings, fry it the first time and refrigerate it? And then fry it the second time when you are ready to serve? Has anyone tried this?

      Reply
      • Jason Lucente says

        February 09, 2021 at 11:22 am

        If you want to achieve crispier wings, you have to do 1st fry method on low heat for about 3to5 min, then let it rest or you can put it on the fridge, then final fry on a high temperature..

        Reply
    22. Panda says

      June 23, 2014 at 2:05 am

      Best recipe ever!!

      Reply
    23. The Coconut Cat says

      January 12, 2014 at 10:33 pm

      I lived in japan for 7 years. Live this recipe and make it all the time!!

      Reply
    24. kiwi_saru says

      April 02, 2013 at 4:29 am

      I lived in Nagoya 10 years ago and will never forget the taste of the tebasaki there. Am VERY excited to try these!!

      Reply
    25. Betty says

      November 22, 2012 at 12:38 am

      Just made these wings for pre-Thanksgiving dinner. They were really good. Even my boyfriend, who claims to not really like wings, approved of them!

      Reply
    26. Dan says

      October 18, 2012 at 11:44 pm

      Wow! This was terrific. Even my wife (who's from Osaka) said it was amazing!

      Reply
    27. Dan says

      October 18, 2012 at 7:44 pm

      Wow! This was terrific. Even my wife (who's from Osaka) said it was amazing!

      Reply
    28. esper says

      August 30, 2012 at 8:57 am

      im living in japan and 25 yrs ago ive worked in nagoya for 6 mos but still cant forget the taste of the tebasaki so ill make it a try.....a must tomorrow

      Reply
    29. Marc Matsumoto says

      July 10, 2012 at 10:05 am

      I've never tried Tebaya, may have to give it a go the next time I'm in the city.

      Reply
    30. Marc Matsumoto says

      July 10, 2012 at 10:04 am

      Awesome! Always good to hear from someone who's tried it:-)

      Reply
    31. Jennie Toyokawa says

      July 03, 2012 at 9:26 am

      This turned out great! Thank you!

      Reply
    32. Marc Matsumoto says

      July 03, 2012 at 12:10 am

      I usually have that rule too, but for these I'll make an exception!

      Reply
    33. Simon @ SoyRiceFire.com says

      July 01, 2012 at 9:55 pm

      These wings are gorgeous! Now I know how Tebaya in Chelsea gets their wings so crispy and flavorful. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    34. Marilia says

      July 01, 2012 at 10:57 am

      I love eating chicken wings but can never bring myself to cook them at home .. since I have rule-no deep frying at home LOL!

      Reply
    35. Marilia says

      July 01, 2012 at 8:46 am

      Nice tips! The wings are a gorgeous colour and do look so delightfully crisp.

      Reply

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