Chicken Breast Tempura: Fluffy Japanese Toriten with Citrus Dipping Sauce

Banzo Ita Perfecto consumes way more chicken than anywhere else in the country and this is their crown jewel. Toriten isn't a regular tempura, it's marinated chicken dressed in a cloud-like crispy coating that shatters on contact. Let me walk you through every step to nailing this classic. For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website, just google chicken tempura, it's that easy to find me. We'll start by preparing our fillet for marinade. In this bowl, I'm mixing together 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger, 1 teaspoon of grated garlic, 1 teaspoon of sake and 1 teaspoon of soy sesame oil. This isn't just about flavour, the salt in the soy sauce creates a brining effect that helps the chicken retain moisture during frying and freshly grated ginger contains natural enzymes that actually tenderise the meat by breaking down proteins. Now add my chicken pieces to the marinade and make sure each piece gets a nice even coating. For the best Toriten, cut against the grain, that means across the muscle fibres, with a diagonal cutting motion. You'll also want to make sure all your chicken pieces are similar size. Cover it with plastic wrap touching the surface of the chicken and then rest in the fridge. Don't leave this marinating too long though, about 30 minutes is the sweet spot. Whilst the marinating time is almost up, let's create the perfect tempura batter. First, I'm cracking an egg into this bowl and adding 50ml of chilled water. You should use chilled water straight from the refrigerator. I measured out my water at the beginning and kept in the fridge while the chicken was marinating. You could even add ice cubes to keep it extra cold throughout the process. So why does cold matter so much? While cold water slows down gluten formation, gluten is great for bread but terrible for tempura. Giving everything cold slows down this reaction which is what gives Toriten its light crispy texture. Now I'm adding 4 tablespoons of cake flour and 3 tablespoons of potato starch. Instead of just dumping dry ingredients in, I'm sifting them directly into the wet mixture. This extra step makes a big difference in getting that airy crisp coating. When mixing, I use chopsticks or you can use a fork and stir just until combined, leaving small lumps in the batter. Overmixing also develops gluten which leads to a heavy bready coating rather than the delicate crispiness we're after. And if you can't find potato starch, cornstarch will work in a pinch though the original Toriten from Toyokan restaurant actually used this blend of wheat flour and potato starch. Now it's time to fry. I preheat my oil to exactly 170 degrees celsius which is 340 degrees fahrenheit. I'm using rice bran oil which is my personal favourite but any neutral flavoured oil with a high smoke point will work, like vegetable or canola oil. With my oil at the perfect temperature, I'm gently dropping the chicken pieces into the batter, making sure they're fully coated. I'm careful not to overcrowd the pot because that would lower the oil temperature too much. If the temperature drops, the chicken tempura will cook more slowly and the batter could become saturated and oily. I'm frying these for about 4 minutes in total, turning halfway through. The end result should be fluffy and golden. You'll know they're done when the bubbling sound changes from active bubbling to a quieter crackling sound and the batter turns that beautiful light golden colour that's just irresistible. Now, Toriten isn't just deep fried chicken with tempura batter. It's actually more like a hybrid between tempura and karaage. This regional speciality comes from Oita prefecture where it was born back in the 1930s. And it makes perfect sense that it originated there. Oita is famous throughout Japan for its chicken consumption. The locals enjoy it as a soul food, typically served with a tangy ponzu-like sauce and garnished with kabosu citrus, another Oita speciality. Once they're done, I'm moving the Toriten to a wire rack instead of paper towels. This lets air circulate underneath so the bottom gets soggy. There's nothing worse than soggy tempura. The finishing touch is this tangy dipping sauce that perfectly balances the richness of the fried chicken. I'm mixing equal parts of kabosu juice, soy sauce and rice vinegar in this small bowl. Kabosu is the more authentic option but you can substitute with yuzu, lime or lemon if it's not available. If you're looking for a really authentic Oita style experience, you can try adding a bit of karashi mustard to the sauce but that's totally up to you. And there you have it. Perfect Toriten. Japanese chicken tempura with a light crispy coating and tender flavorful chicken inside. Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description. Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen. There we go. The link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now. And if you want to watch more similar videos, don't miss my chicken recipe playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.