Oita Prefecture is one of the top producers of chicken meat. You can enjoy a variety of chicken dishes here, including chicken soup, chicken rice, and fried chicken. And don't forget "toriten" (chicken tempura). Toriten is soul food that you'll want to eat every day.

Let's explore the characteristics and history of Toriten.

Characteristics of Toriten

Toriten, a local dish from Oita Prefecture, is chicken tempura. It is a soul food that is eaten on a daily basis.

It looks similar to fried chicken, but it contains less oil and is not heavy. The batter of the chicken tempura is light and crispy, and the chicken is very juicy. The flavor of soy sauce and garlic is irresistible. It comes with a generous amount of stomach-friendly cabbage, so you'll find yourself eating a lot of chicken tempura.

The well-seasoned Toritoten is delicious as is, but there are many other ways to enjoy it, such as dipping it in vinegar soy sauce or ponzu sauce with mustard paste, or drizzling it on top, which is a local specialty.

How to make Toriten

The meat used for Toriten can be chicken thighs, breast, etc. After removing the skin, cut the chicken into flat slices.

Then, season with soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, etc., and deep fry in tempura flour. If you don't have tempura flour, make a batter using wheat flour or potato starch. Deep fry in 165-170℃ oil for about 3-4 minutes and it's done.

In the days when chicken was an expensive ingredient, families would make chicken tempura by coating it generously in batter. The extra batter added volume to the chicken, allowing the whole family to enjoy it. Toriten is a perfect side dish for rice or to go with beer, and is a dish the whole family can enjoy.

The history of Toriten

The restaurant where Toriten originated is Toyoken in Beppu city. It is a long-established restaurant founded in 1926 (Taisho 15).

The founder of Toyoken, Miyamoto Shiro, was actually the chef for the Emperor. He was originally a French chef at the Imperial Hotel.

Toriten is a dish that was created by adapting Chinese cuisine to a Japanese style. It is said to have started in the early Showa period, when the chef thought that women would have a hard time eating the bone-in fried chicken that was already on the menu, so he cut boneless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and prepared them in a tempura style.
At the time, local chickens had tough meat, so they were sliced flat and fried in tempura.

At first, it was served as a meal for the restaurant's employees, but it was later improved and served at the restaurant. At the time, it was called "Fried Chicken Whole" and was accompanied by a description that read "Chicken Kamaboko Tempura."

Cooked faster than fried chicken, the crispy, soft batter quickly gained popularity and began to be served in a variety of restaurants. The name "toriten" (tori tempura) soon became established.

Toyoken's Toriten uses only carefully selected domestic chicken. They also insist on using only fresh eggs and no water. The chicken is coated with a batter made of eggs, flour, and potato starch. Toyoken uses no water at all and only fresh eggs.

Gradually, more and more restaurants began offering their own variations on Toriten, and Toriten is now served at most restaurants, including izakaya cafeterias.

If you come to Oita, you should stop by the Beppu Hell Tour

Oita Prefecture is one of the leading hot spring kingdoms in Japan. If you like hot springs, we recommend the Beppu Hell Tour. Beppu Hell Tour is a tourist facility where you can see the source of hot springs that are nearly 100 degrees Celsius. You can also enjoy meeting impressive crocodiles and buying souvenirs.

You may be wondering why it's called hell.
The Bungo Fudoki records that the hot spring area of Kannawa and Kamegawa has been emitting steam, hot mud, and boiling water for over 1,000 years.

Because it was an inaccessible and hated place, it came to be called "Hell." Even today, the hot springs' outlets are still called "Hell" in Kannawa.

The Beppu Hell Tour includes the following four hells: Sea Hell, Pond of Blood Hell, Tatsumaki Hell, White Pond Hell, Oniishi Bozu Hell, Oniyama Hell, and Kamado Hell. Sea Hell, Pond of Blood Hell, Tatsumaki Hell, and White Pond Hell are all designated as national scenic spots as "Beppu Hells."

By the way, there are foot baths at Umi Jigoku, Chinoike Jigoku, Onishi Jigoku, and Kamado Jigoku. Of course, all the hot springs are free-flowing.

You can complete the entire course in about 2 to 3 hours. If you want to enjoy a leisurely stroll around the town, we recommend setting aside a day.

How to get to Oita

There are various ways to access Oita Prefecture. We will introduce the travel time required by plane, express bus, JR, etc. Travel time may vary depending on the season and weather.

[Access by plane]

・About 1 hour from Itami Airport ・About 1 hour and 10 minutes from Chubu Centrair International Airport ・About 1 hour and 30 minutes from Haneda Airport

[Access by express bus]
・From Fukuoka: Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes ・From Kumamoto: Approx. 4 hours ・From Nagasaki: Approx. 4 hours 10 minutes ・From Kobe: Approx. 9 hours 20 minutes ・From Osaka: Approx. 11 hours

[Access by JR (express train)]

・From Kokura: approx. 1 hour 20 minutes・From Hakata: approx. 2 hours 10 minutes・From Hiroshima: approx. 2 hours 40 minutes・From Kagoshima: approx. 3 hours 30 minutes・From Shin-Osaka: approx. 4 hours・From Nagoya: approx. 5 hours・From Tokyo: approx. 6 hours 30 minutes

[Access by ferry]
・From Misaki: approx. 1 hour 10 minutes ・From Tokuyama: approx. 2 hours ・From Yawatahama: approx. 3 hours ・From Osaka: approx. 12 hours ・From Kobe: approx. 11 hours 20 minutes

[Access by car]

・Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes from Kitakyushu IC・Approx. 2 hours from Saga IC・Approx. 2 hours from Fukuoka IC・Approx. 2 hours 20 minutes from Kumamoto IC・Approx. 2 hours 50 minutes from Miyazaki IC・Approx. 3 hours from Nagasaki IC・Approx. 4 hours from Hiroshima IC・Approx. 4 hours 30 minutes from Kagoshima IC

Location of Beppu City, Oita Prefecture

summary

Chicken tempura is prepared in a variety of ways depending on the restaurant, such as with a fluffy batter or fried twice for a crispy texture.
The taste also changes depending on how you eat it, so you can enjoy comparing different types of chicken tempura.

If you visit Oita Prefecture, be sure to try Toriten.

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