A Dish That Tells our Story: Chicken Nanban

Lightly coated and fried chicken breast dipped in nanban vinegar, house made tartar sauce, organic cabbage salad, basil dressing.

Every dish on our menu tells a story but there is one in particular that is the most significant in our hearts.  Chicken Nanban is a dish that has been on our menu since our doors first opened to the public in 2008.  The recipe and presentation has remained untouched through out the years.  As well as being one of the most ordered items on our menu, it is also our general manager, Tony Albertson’s all time favorite dish.

What’s so special about this dish, is the connection it has to Miku’s roots and history.  Our sister company, Tora Corporation (which currently operates 8 restaurants) is located in Miyazaki Japan, the second largest poultry raising prefecture in the nation.  Chicken Nanban is a dish that originated in Miyazaki prefecture in the southern island of Kyushu back in the 1950s.  It loosely translates to “Southern Barbarian” referring to the history of this dish, which was adapted from the Portuguese escabeche, where fried fish were pickled in vinegar for long sea voyages.  Early Portuguese sailors brought this to Japan and nanban-zuke, a  method of preserving horse mackerel become popular.  Eventually, the technique was modified by using chicken and the dish was born.  Chicken Nanban is Miyazaki’s culinary claim to fame and if you ever visit the city, you MUST try this dish.  It is the soul food of Miyazaki and a taste of comfort for a lot of Miku team members, especially owner, Seigo Nakamura.  Bringing this dish from his hometown and introducing it on the Miku menu was a dream come true.  It symbolizes his first expansion from Japan and his passion for food and his own culture.  Not only does this dish hold a lot of meaning, it is a culinary creation that is truly delicious.

**Special thanks to Sherman of  http://www.shermansfoodadventures.com for the picture of Chicken Nanban.