The tempura-style fried chicken dish from Ōita Prefecture is called toriten.
Toriten is made by cutting chicken into small pieces, marinating it—often with soy sauce, sake, and garlic—and coating it in tempura batter before deep-frying. Unlike many familiar Japanese fried-chicken preparations, its coating is a light, airy batter rather than breadcrumbs, giving the pieces a distinctly tempura-like texture.
The dish is strongly associated with Ōita Prefecture and is especially popular in Ōita City and Beppu. It is commonly served hot with fresh greens and a dipping sauce based on ponzu and mustard. In Ōita, kabosu, a local Japanese citrus, is also used to make a characteristic sauce or accompaniment.
Its exact birthplace is disputed locally. The Ōita City account credits a restaurant in Ōita City, while another tradition identifies the restaurant Toyo-Ken in Beppu as the creator. That origin disagreement does not change the dish’s name. Tebasaki means chicken wings, yakitori is grilled skewered chicken, and karaage is a different style of fried food.