Chicken Nanban

This is a favorite of mine. It is also a perennial favorite with schoolkids in Japan. The sharp-eyed, will immediately notice there is an easy "cheaters method" to this dish. You get a bag of frozen chicken nuggets or "tenders", bake or fry them and then dunk them in the nanbansu sauce and serve.
Like many a Japanese cook - I will admit that I have succumbed and resorted to this quick method more often than not, rather than go through the time of cutting up and preparing the chicken nuggets myself.
Your inner cooking sensei will be very disappointed if you do not make it properly, but it tastes damn good so that is OK, I think.
Now, as to where serving tartar sauce with chicken nuggets, in Japan came from is anyone's guess. It works in some curious way though. I also like to have some extra nanbansu sauce on the side for dipping.
For the nanbansu sauce with this, I like red chiles in it when I can find them at the store, otherwise a good old jolt of Sriracha Hot Sauce will do the trick quite admirably.

Chicken - done properly. Don't disappoint your inner cooking sensei.

1 lb. chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
Plain flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, set aside. Heat up the oil in a saucepan for deep frying, at least 2-3 inches deep. Lightly coat the chicken pieces with flour and then dip them in the egg mixture and gently place them into the oil. Deep fry the chicken pieces until they are golden brown. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels. To serve – place the fried chicken pieces on a plate and some tartar sauce on the side, spoon some nanbansu sauce over the chicken. Dip the pieces of chicken in the tartar sauce and chow down.

Will you will disappoint cooking sensei - by using frozen chicken tenders? (yeah you will..lol)
Deduct minus one Cooking Zen Point.

Chicken Nanban Tartar Sauce -

1 boiled egg, chopped
1/2 shallot, finely diced, omit if you don't have them or use a bit of chopped regular onion, or even onion powder.
2 sweet pickles, finely diced
5 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped, optional
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Though not in many recipes, I add a tsp. of miso paste to this.

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Nanbansu Sauce -

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tbsp. sugar
1 piece about 4 inches long dried konbu seaweed
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2-3 small red Thai red chili peppers or similar, cut into rounds or a jolt of good old Sriracha.
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small pan. Heat and stir until the sugar is melted. Cool and put in a screwtop jar. Store in the refrigerator.