Tempura - the Japanese taste
 
Tempura is a simple dish. Just deep fry sea food or vegetable coated with batter, a mixture of flour, egg and water. Any one could come up with such cooking method. In fact, it does not look much different from, say, Fish'n Chips. So why do I brag about it? The fact so many people love the taste of tempura should mean something. Famous Charles Chaplin, for example, was known to be crazy about Tempura.
 
The hotel he stayed in and the ship he traveled with were selected on the basis of the skill of the tempura chef of the hotel/ the ship. I can believe it. Tempura could be very addictive. Taste of tempura can be heavenly when cooked properly. The same material cooked by another way may not give so much delight. It can also be so badly done so that you would rather throw it into a garbage bin without touching. The dynamic range in taste is astounding in case of tempura. The history of tempura does not go back very far. It became a very popular food in Tokyo (by then called Edo) around the 17th century when cooking oil became available at a reasonable cost. It has been a popular dish in Japan since then.
 
Not far from KEK is a little tempura restaurant. Mr. Masataka IWAMOTO (picture above), the owner/chef is in charge on everything here. Since the taste of tempura is at its peak within half a minute or so after being fried, the chef will cook right in front of you and serve you directly. With his watchful eyes, he will determine the exact timing to start cooking the next piece so that he can serve you at the moment you would be ready for it.
 
It should be eaten right away as the great taste quickly deteriorates into a taste of an ordinary food.
 
Cooking procedure for tempura is simple. Only the parameters he could control to bring out the best taste out of the particular material are the size and shape of the material, the quality and the amount of batter, the temperature of the oil and the cooking time. To become a good tempura chef, it will generally take 5 to 10 years of apprenticeship in addition to his/her born-with talent.
 
One would wonder why just deep-frying something should take that long to acquire the art.
 
Well, you can watch him doing it and try it yourself after watching his act. You may get something that looks similar, you will soon recognize the incredible difference in taste. It is just like a magic. Although the same cooking procedure is followed for fish, shrimp, scallops, vegetables and so forth, each gives distinctive taste and flavor. The thin batter prevents flavor and moisture to escape from the material and enhances the taste of the original material.
 
The taste of the thin outside crust never dominates but is a nice compliment.
 
I should caution you that not all the restaurant in Japan serve such Tempura Supremo. Most chefs could provide acceptable taste but not so good to make you astonished. So, Mr. IWAMOTO is one of the gifted chefs who could make diners so happy. He would even adjust the oil temperature according to the taste of the particular customer when there are few customers in the restaurant. He would be unhappy if a customer can not appreciate his art. He will be unhappy if a customer comes in with strong perfume, which would spoil the nice smell of his tempura. He will be unhappy if a customer would be keep talking so that his tempura is left untouched. However, he is not a stubborn unyielding person and would not show such feeling against a customer. He is very talkative and a fun person to be with. He understands the meaning of life, you see ...
 

I will tell you how to distinguish a good tempura restaurant from a bad one. A good tempura restaurant is clean. The air is not filled with burnt oil smell. Chef(s) stands right in front of a bar counter where customers sit so that the chef can observe you and serve you with ease. And the faces of customers are filled with satisfaction. One problem is that such tempura restaurant could be as expensive as an expensive French restaurant in New York.. Fortunately, his place is not that expensive so that we can enjoy the taste without worrying about the bill so much. Well, he is an exception. I would think that his tempura alone could be a sufficient reason for you to come to KEK. Bon appetit! (T.K.O.)