"Master, is there anything special about the oil for fried tempura?" Seeing that Tetsuya Saotome was about to start frying tempura, everyone watched intently.

"Yes. Every good tempura must achieve a complete balance between oil and water, sweetness and freshness, taste and taste. So frying oil is naturally one of the elements of tempura. For tempura, the texture of the frying oil must be light to ensure an elegant and non-greasy taste. At the same time, the flavor of the oil should not be too strong to overpower the taste of the ingredients themselves. ”

Listening to Jiro Ida's translation, Liu Mang, Lin Xiao and others nodded again and again, expressing their deep agreement.

"Then master, what kind of oil is more appropriate?" Lin Xiao asked Lin Xiao when he saw Saotome Tetsuya pouring the translucent clear grease from a large glass pot into the pot.

As a fellow Daoist, Lin Xiao just looked at the color of the grease and sniffed the aroma gently, naturally knowing that this oil was not ordinary.

"Usually, the most traditional tempura oil is sesame oil. This unbaked sesame oil is light in texture and has a mild, pure flavor that can be a great addition to food without overpowering it, making it one of the best oils for tempura. Of course, in addition to sesame oil, rapeseed oil, salad oil, and olive oil are also common oils. Canola oil is lighter and easier to color food, while salad oil has a purer flavor but lacks flavor. Olive oil has a pronounced flavour and is often accompanied by subtle acidity, which often masks the original flavor of the ingredients......"

When talking about tempura, Saotome Tetsuya seems to be a different person and becomes talkative. He did not reply directly to Lin Xiao's question, but began to elaborate on the properties of various oils.

"Sure enough—there is no end to learning!" Hearing Saotome Tetsuya's narration, Liu Mang was not annoyed at all, but sincerely admired.

He now has reached the pinnacle of control over the heat, and even just by looking at it, he can accurately judge the temperature of the oil in the pot, which is as accurate as a machine.

But Liu Mang never thought that in addition to the oil temperature, someone could also understand the oil of fried food so thoroughly, which made him find another way to improve himself.

"In many cases, the oil used in tempura shops is not a single type, but a mixture of multiple oils. Depending on your preferences and the characteristics of the ingredients, the chef will use different proportions of blended oil to bring more possibilities to the flavor of tempura. For example, now, when I want to fry prawns, I use 7 parts olive oil as a base, plus 2 parts sesame oil and 1 part canola oil. In this way, the fried shrimp meat can achieve a perfect taste. ”

At this time, the grease in the pot, after the torment of the hot fire at the bottom of the pot, has risen, making a slight 'Bibo' sound. Tetsuya Saotome took a basin and began to prepare the batter for the fried shrimp.

"Leave the ingredients to me. Ida Huaishu also rolled up his sleeves and scooped up a dozen or so live prawns from the glass water tank next to the stove.

"Then it's troublesome for Master Huaishu. Tetsuya Saotome nodded, and continued.

"In addition to the oil and the temperature of the oil, another secret of tempura is the mask. When a tempura is fried, what parts of the dough should be wrapped and what parts should not be wrapped, how thick and to what extent should the dough be wrapped, all of which depend on the chef's precise judgment of the ingredients. Therefore, experience and ingenuity are essential for a good tempura chef. ”

"It makes sense that we Chinese chefs are the same, understanding the characteristics of each ingredient is a basic skill. "Everyone is in a relationship.

"In addition to these, the temperature of the batter, the stirring, and even the choice of eggs are very particular. For batter, in order to avoid the formation of gluten, the batter must be made with ice water and dough, and not even over-stirring with chopsticks. For eggs, the egg whites and fried tempura are fluffy and stable, and the yolk is crispy and golden. Whether you choose a white, egg yolk, or whole egg depends on the ingredients and experience. ”

"If you do one thing to the extreme, a new world will probably appear. Liu Mang sighed.

In Chinese cuisine, frying is the most commonly used cooking technique. But there are very few chefs who will focus on the process of frying all their lives. In this regard, the tempura craftsmen of Toei are indeed superior.

Saotome Tetsuya chatted with everyone while adjusting the batter, and Ida Huaishu over there also finished processing a dozen or so prawns.

The shrimp head and shrimp tail are separated, the shrimp tail is removed from the shrimp shell, cut from the back, the shrimp line inside is picked out, and the shrimp is carefully cleaned.

"Is this okay?" said Ida as he sent the processed shrimp to Saotome Tetsuya.

"Excellent craftsmanship. Saotome Tetsuya took it with a smile, carefully sucked the water from the shrimp with a white paper towel and put it in the batter.

"Master, how did you get into this business?" Lin Xiao asked again as he watched Saotome Tetsuya gently stir the shrimp meat in the basin with chopsticks, as if brushing the tips of his lover's hair.

"Me...... Actually, I wanted to learn how to knead sushi. Tetsuya Saotome had a childlike smile on her face.

"When I was 15 years old, my father rushed to Tokyo to work. At that time, my dream was to become a sushi chef, because if I became a first-class sushi restaurant chef, I could earn 20,000 yen a month. There was still some time before the interview, and I didn't eat at that time, so the introducer took me to "Tenso" in Ueno, an old tempura shop. As I ate, I casually asked, "How much does a tempura master earn in a month?" More than a sushi chef?yes, why don't you learn how to make tempura and give it a try?" Speaking of this, Saotome Tetsuya couldn't hold back anymore and laughed out loud.

"I can't remember the taste of that meal now, but I don't remember that I didn't pay for it. I still don't know why I didn't have to confiscate my money, and then after that meal, I went to Tenso and started as an apprentice, frying tempura. In a flash, 70 years have passed......"

"If you had learned to make sushi back then, there would have been two sushi gods in Toei today. After processing the shrimp, Ida Huaishu, who began to process the eel again, interjected.

"yes, I love sushi so much. If I make sushi, I will definitely become a good sushi chef, cooking is just like art, it's all the same!"

Saotome Tetsuya's simple words made Liu Mang feel emotional. And he also noticed that although he had been talking and mixing the batter, Saotome Tetsuya's eyes never left the pot of oil in front of him.

The oil in the pot still looks calm, and some chefs will throw a little slurry in to test the temperature of the oil just to be on the safe side, but Tetsuya Saotome didn't do anything, just stared like staring at the deep ocean.

"I suddenly understood where the so-called 'God' was. ”