"How did the Dongying tempura come about, and did it come from China?" asked Shan.

The processed prawns are evenly coated in batter, and Saotome Tetsuya uses long chopsticks to pick the prawns and shakes them gently to shake off the excess batter.

"I know this, I'll answer for the master. Jiro Ida paused and organized his own language.

"Many of Toei's dishes are from China, such as ramen and kashi. But this tempura is not. Tempura is an imported food brought to Japan by Portuguese merchant ships, and the etymology is the Portuguese word "Temporo", which means "cooking". During the Christian fast, Portuguese sailors were not allowed to eat meat, so they fried sea fish, which was delicious and nutritious. "Deep frying" is rarely used. The common people of Toei discovered a new world of gastronomy, and tempura gradually became one of the most popular civilian foods. ”

"I found that you Chinese are not so keen on tempura. There aren't many Chinese customers who come to our restaurant to eat tempura. Probably because there are a lot of fried foods in China, Chinese customers always think that tempura is fried fish, unlike sushi, which has a sense of luxury. Saotome Tetsuya followed up on Jiro Ida's words.

"That's because your store is very difficult to book, okay. Master, haven't you ever thought about opening a branch?" Lin Xiao said.

"Branch?" Saotome Tetsuya looked dazed and shook her head: "If I open a branch, then how can I be busy? ”

"Well, when I didn't say it. Lin Xiao shrugged his shoulders.

At this time, the clear oil in the pot began to change, a large number of bubbles overflowed from the bottom of the pot, and a faint green smoke rose from the oil surface.

"The current temperature should be around 150 degrees, and then increase by 30 degrees to 180, which is the most suitable oil temperature for fried shrimp. Liu Mang also kept staring at the pot of oil in front of Saotome Tetsuya, and thought silently in his heart.

Saotome Tetsuya suddenly condensed and listened sideways: "Well, the oil temperature is 150 degrees, and it's almost ready to start frying." ”

"You actually listened with your ears?" Liu Mang was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help blurting out.

Every chef has a way of identifying the temperature of the oil, some by feeling the heat with their hands on top of the pan, by looking at it with their eyes, and by trying it with chopsticks. But by listening, Liu Mang saw it for the first time.

"Well, I did hear it with my ears. After listening to Jiro Ida's translation, Tetsuya Saotome smiled: "At first, I was used to seeing with my eyes, but then my eyesight deteriorated, and it was not so accurate. Later, I switched to listening with my ears, listening to the sound of mixing the pulp, listening to the sound of the oil pot, and listening to the sound of the ingredients. These things are talking to you and will tell you a lot of information. ”

"It's a bit mysterious, isn't it?" Shan Jian felt a little incredulous and couldn't help but whisper.

"It's true, you can cook with your ears. It's like our well-known gel pot in Guangdong, can't you hear the ripening of the ingredients in the clay pot when you listen to the sound? But the sound of the gel pot is very loud, and there is no comparison with the master's meticulous situation. ”

After waiting for about two minutes, Tetsuya Saotome picked up the prawns and quickly put them into the oil pot one by one.

"So accurate!" Liu Mang knew that according to his own judgment, the oil temperature at this time was just 180 degrees, and the error would not exceed five degrees.

The fried chopsticks in Tetsuya Saotome are like two batons, drawing a graceful arc, like a dragonfly dotting water, full of peculiar rhyme, and quickly turning the prawns one by one in the oil pot.

"Please use it!" Only twenty seconds later, the first prawn came out of the pot and was delivered to the dish with blotting paper in front of Liu Mang.

"Please wait 50 seconds before eating to allow the shrimp to cool a little. Tetsuya Saotome reminded.

"Okay. Liu Mang carefully observed the fried shrimp on the plate.

The surface of the prawns is wrapped in a layer of golden batter, because the shrimp meat still makes a slight 'sizzling' sound when it is fished out of the oil pan just now.

"Actually...... There is no residual oil?" Liu Mang picked it up with chopsticks and was taken aback.

Because after clamping, the blotting paper under the prawns is clean, and there is no trace of oil stains. This is too scary, isn't it? To be able to do this, the ingredients, the clothing, the oil temperature, and the time must be 100% accurate, and there can be no mistakes.

Liu Mang thinks that he can't do it yet, and this should be the result of persisting in one thing for decades!

Then, the other prawns came out of the pot one after another and placed them on everyone's plates.

Tetsuya Saotome brought a plate of sea salt prepared in advance: "Please sprinkle a little bit according to your taste." ”

Liu Mang pinched some sea salt, sprinkled some on the fried shrimp, and then picked it up and brought it to his mouth to bite down.

Crispy, fresh, delicious, these words can no longer describe the shrimp in the mouth, in the thin puff pastry, there is a sweet and elastic shrimp meat. The precise oil temperature and the dough coat lock in the most vivid moment of the shrimp meat, as if it jumps again in the human mouth.

"Master, this kind of taste is beyond the scope of frying. After savoring the taste in his mouth, Liu Mang gently put down his chopsticks and said solemnly.

Liu Mang's tongue is sensitive enough to distinguish the difference in water quality, and naturally he can also distinguish that Saotome Tetsuya's seemingly ordinary fried shrimp actually contains another layer of things.

Over the years, apart from Brother Huaishu, you are the first person who can eat the ultimate meaning of tempura just by eating!" Saotome Tetsuya was stunned for a moment, then admired.

"What mystery?" the crowd who were still immersed in the delicious taste of the prawns came back to their senses and hurriedly pricked up their ears.

"Food-coated batter dehydrates quickly when placed in the pan, creating countless tiny holes. Hot oil enters through these holes, heating up the food and continuously forcing out the moisture from the ingredients. The oil temperature of fried tempura is usually very high, but the temperature inside the tempura is often less than 100 degrees Celsius until the water has evaporated, and even though it is fried in a pan, it is 'steamed'. And the perfect balance of 'frying' and 'steaming' is the ultimate meaning of tempura!"

Speaking of which, Saotome Tetsuya used her own chopsticks to fry shrimp and picked up the remaining half of the prawns on Liu Mang's plate.

After this half of the shrimp was bitten off by Liu Mang, it can be clearly seen that it is a translucent core in the snow-white shrimp meat.

"The human tongue is most sensitive at around 45°C, and the temperature of this shrimp core is almost 45°C. From dipping to frying, it takes only 20 seconds, and the taste will disappear in one more second. And if you want the ingredients to change from frying to steaming, every detail must be perfect. ”

The idea of steaming in the middle of frying was an eye-opener for everyone, as if a new window had opened on the road of cooking.

"Master, this time I was really taught. ”