Tebasaki

Tebasaki is Nagoya's signature fried chicken wing dish. The whole wingette is deep-fried until crisp, then coated in a sweet-savory glaze of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sake, and sugar, dusted with white sesame and black pepper. The dish is strongly associated with Nagoya and the Chubu region. The restaurant chain Sekai no Yamachan claims to have popularized the style, though the preparation itself predates any single chain.

A plate of tebasaki brings up golden-fried chicken wings glistening with a dark, sweet-savory glaze, dusted with sesame and speckled with black pepper. The skin is shatteringly crisp — even under the glaze — and the meat within is juicy and intensely flavored with garlic and soy. Eaten with fingers and a cold beer, it is the quintessential Nagoya izakaya experience.

Tebasaki rests on the crisp skin maintained under the glaze. The wings are deep-fried once or twice to create a thoroughly crisp skin; the glaze — hot soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and sake — is applied immediately after frying, while the wings are still hot enough to absorb it. The sugar in the glaze caramelizes slightly on contact with the hot skin, creating a tacky, glossy coating that adheres without making the skin soggy. The key is the speed: the wings go from fryer to glaze to serving within seconds, so the skin doesn't have time to soften.