#yoshoku

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

4 Gardein chicken breasts, or other chicken breast substitute, thawed

1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch (optional)

2 Tbsp egg replacer (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Water

Pinch kosher salt

A few cracks of black pepper

Oil to deep fry

For the nanbanzu / 南蛮酢 (nanban sauce):

3 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce, such as Kikkoman's

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

3 Tbsp granulated vegetarian sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp mirin (for a low-alcohol version, use aji-mirin; for an alcohol-free version, replace with 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp sugar)

For the tartar sauce:

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/2 tsp mild Dijon mustard

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp dried ground shiitake mushroom, or kombu dashi powder

1 tsp vegetarian sugar

A few small sweet pickles or 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber, diced

1/2 small yellow onion, minced

Pinch kosher salt

Pinch of MSG

Minced dill or parsley (optional)

If you eat eggs, you can replace the first five ingredients with 1/2 cup Kewpie mayo (キューピーマヨ).

Instructions:

For the nanbanzu / 南蛮酢 (nanban sauce):

1. Heat sugar and soy sauce in a small pot over medium-low heat until simmering, stirring to dissolve.

2. Add vinegar and mirin and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

For the tartar sauce:

1. Mince the onion. If you prefer, you can submerge the minced onion in cool water for 10 minutes or so and then drain to remove some of its sharpness. Seed and mince the cucumber.

2. Whisk mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, salt, black pepper, MSG, rice vinegar, and mushroom powder together to combine. Add onion and cucumber and stir. Top with herbs. Refrigerate while preparing the chicken.

For the chicken:

1. Mix flour, starch, salt, and black pepper together on a plate or cutting board. In a small bowl, combine egg replacer with water according to package directions and allow to thicken.

2. Fill a deep fryer or medium-sized pot with several inches of a neutral oil and heat it to 340 °F (171 °C). A chopstick placed in the oil should slowly form small bubbles around its tip.

3. Coat chicken breasts with egg replacer; if it is too thick, you may need to whisk in an additional 1-2 Tbsp water.

4. First deep fry. Carefully lower one chicken breast into the oil and fry without disturbing for about 2 minutes, until the egg coating on the bottom side is cooked through and lightly golden brown. Flip over and continue to fry for another 2 minutes. Use chopsticks or a slotted spatula to remove the chicken breast onto a wire cooling rack or paper-towel-lined plate.

5. Use a slotted spoon to remove any bits of batter from the oil and re-check the temperature. Repeat with each chicken breast.

6. Second deep fry. Increase the heat slightly to raise the temperature of the oil to 355 °F (179 °C). Re-fry each chicken breast for about a minute, flipping once halfway through. Set aside.

7. Coat with nanban sauce. Place the fried chicken breasts in a shallow rimmed baking dish or tray and spoon most of the nanban sauce over them, turning over several times to coat. Reserve the rest of the sauce for serving.

8. Slice each chicken breast widthwise and transfer to an individual serving plate. Serve with additional nanban sauce, tartar sauce, rice, a green salad, or soup.