Eggplant: "Isn't tempura fried prawns?"

Cucumber: "Actually, it's not as good as the deep-fried groundnuts from the old king next door..."

Mamma: "When can you let me not worry about your future! The brats! All to me to popularize the knowledge of tempura! 45 ℃ is going to make people cry okay!"

Today's spring is bright, mushrooms suddenly burst into poetry and decided to tell you a story:

Once upon a time, there was a place called England, where the food was not very tasty, but the people here had a positive heart and were always revamping their food. One day, they found that fried things are very delicious, so Scotland was born to sell all kinds of fried food fast food restaurant, the store's sign is fried chocolate bar ...... (fall ~ can not go on ah Hey! Why don't you fry something serious? Give me a doughnut to calm my nerves.)

So, even if you can't quite keep up with the pace of dark cuisine, deep-fried food is a real delicacy, such as tempura, one of Japan's most iconic delicacies. When it comes to tempura, you can't forget Tetsuya Saotome, who is known as the "God of Tempura".

Tetsuya Saotome was born into a family that ran a newspaper, and from the age of 5, she learned to be a "socialite" by delivering newspapers. His father, a legend who delivered the morning paper until 3:00 p.m., passed on his ability to observe and comprehend things in detail, and when he was 15, he graduated from his father's social college and was encouraged by his parents to come to Tokyo to make a name for himself.

In fact, Omikami's original dream was to open a sushi restaurant. After arriving in Tokyo, his family arranged for him to go to Tenjou, a famous tempura restaurant on Ueno Hirokoji. Because the old board (chi) fan (fan) love (mei) talent (you) heart (gei) keen (qian), so here and tempura has become a love affair.

Tetsuya Saotome, who is quick on his feet and gifted in cooking, was promoted to the frying station after two years, and although he trembles and sweats in front of the customers because of his timid side, this character has made him more sensitive, and is good at recognizing the subtle expressions of the customers, so that he understands how to satisfy the other person's taste fully. He has even developed a unique skill of "listening to the sound of the voice", which allows him to recognize the state of the ingredients and the time of cooking.

The Gemini Saotome has not only a talent for cooking, but also an ambitious dream. After entering Tenjou to study, he said to everyone, "I'm going to open a restaurant before I'm thirty!" So after 15 years of "lifelong life hanging life (Japanese meaning desperate efforts)" training, Showa 51 years, two months before the god 30 years old, MIKAWA is the official opening of the mountain residence (so have a dream must be shouted out loud, maybe shouting shouting will be realized it ~).

Speaking of which, let's take a seat at Omikami's store in Fukuzumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, before we talk about life and ideals~This store was awarded one Michelin star before the old man withdrew from the selection, with per capita spending around 600-1200 RMB, and is open every day at noon 11:30 - 13:30 and at night It is open every day from 11:30 to 13:30 and from 17:00 to 21:00. (Jiro Ono, the protagonist of the last article, asked for an advertisement: "When it comes to tempura, I would never go to any other restaurant, this is the only place to go.") (Laughs.)

I don't know if there are people who simply think that tempura is just a vegetable coated in flour and deep-fried (so you're too bad at chatting ah oi~). But in the eyes of a god like Tetsuya Saotome, deep-frying is actually a form of cooking that involves both steaming and roasting, and there are literally hundreds of ways to prepare a single dish of tempura (keep your chin up~).

Different oil temperature, flour form, moisture, cooking time, will make different tempura, texture, flavor will be very different. Therefore, absolute precision is needed in both time and temperature control.

For example, shrimp, the human tongue is most sensitive at about 45 degrees Celsius, so Saotome Omikami, when frying shrimp, from the batter to the pan, no more than 23 seconds. That way the shrimp core stays at exactly 45 degrees Celsius, which inspires the sweetness of the meat.

But sea eel, an ingredient with a heavy fishy flavor of its own, takes more than 2 minutes to fully fry and dry out the moisture before it can taste fresh and fragrant (that is, you need to know a little more than others every day~). It goes without saying what kind of work and dedication is required behind such precise control.

But Saotome Omikami never shows this side to his customers, standing across the street cooking his food, he always looks calm and relaxed. That's his style.

Saotome has an innate sense of artistry, and he draws all the menus for the restaurant himself. Despite claiming that he "doesn't specialize in drawing, and would rather go to the game room", the menus are vivid and detailed (yes, he's proud of it!).

Not only the menu, but also the entire store's decor exudes art, with Professor Toyofukujo's Spring Willow on the wall, a huge metal Italian bowler hat hood made by artisans overhead, a sculpture by Sugiura Yasuyoshi outside, and tableware made by more than 100 contemporary Japanese artists, such as spoons made of Qing Dynasty cloisonné blue, and lacquer bowls made by lacquer artist Yukisaku Noda - in short, the word "luxury.

Saotome Omikami describes himself as a "twisted man". He loved his job and never took a vacation in over 50 years, frustrated by the slightest flaw in the cooking process, but he also hated his job the most. When he was off work, he would go to Jiro Ono's store to taste sushi, then go to a teahouse to have a drink, or go to an artist friend's show, and live his life with a sense of humor and style. He respects the hard work of his father and Mr. Onojiro, but enjoys his "lazy" lifestyle.

Since its opening, MIKAWA is a mountain house where people come and go all day long. The most special customer is Jiro Ono, the "God of Sushi". Ono-sama used to come here twice a month, but as he got older, he came once a month, but sometimes he couldn't get a reservation and couldn't eat. Saotome, who always has a place at Sukiya Hashijirou, says, "I go every week," (as a Gemini).

While she and Jiro have been friends for more than 30 years, the two men have very different styles of hospitality. Saotome Daijin enjoys chatting and joking with her guests, and will pretty much come and go with any request for a photo. So if you're sitting across the table, don't hover, don't hesitate ~ if you're happy chatting, it's possible for the god to draw one more pair of shrimp and sign your name~

But it's important to be able to chat, for example, Saotome Omikami once gave a guest a cup worth a lot of money because she praised the cutlery (didn't she say that this place is full of famous and beautiful utensils!) But those who are so dumb that they can only say, "I don't know what to say. But those who are so dumb that they can only say, "It's so delicious," will have to listen to the god's scowling attack, "Nonsense, of course it's delicious, so I'll bring it out for you to eat ah!"

MIKAWA is Yamai's signature, in addition to the aforementioned prawn tempura and moray eel, there are also boat dingo, which retains its rich flavor after the water is removed, sea urchin rolls with shiso leaves to remove the fishy smell after deep-frying, as well as squid, which is cooked and fried to a soft and sweet taste with a special knife, in addition to carhairao, oxtail, and scallop frying is a good choice ~ in addition to MIKAWA is Yamai's main store, Roppongi and Kayabacho, there are also two MIKAWA stores. There are also two MIKAWA sister restaurants, run by Omikami's wife and son respectively.

If you can't make it to Tokyo to try Tempura no Kami, don't be sorry. Zhang Xuewei, a disciple of the God of Tempura, has also opened a tempura store in Beijing, Xuewei, so why not go there and feast on the deliciousness that is bound to come from the stars?

Joking with guests is joking, but Saotome Omikami's definition of professionalism is unambiguous: "If I get compliments from the guests, I'll go to the restaurant to get them. If you get a compliment from a guest, you'll always work hard in that direction." His dream is to be 130 years old and keep working hard.

This genius chef, who creates a new type of tempura that even babies can eat at a moment's notice because his customers are too old and have bad teeth, has his own cooking philosophy: "If you want to be outstanding, you have to be able to withstand hard work. That's what he's been doing with tempura for more than 50 years.

Our restaurant: MIKAWA YOSANJI

Address: 1-3-1, Fukusumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Phone: +81-3-3643-8383

Sister restaurant: てんぷら みかわ Kayabacho

Address: 3-4-7, Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Sister restaurant: TENBURA MIKAWA KAYABACHO

Address: 3-4-7, Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 3-4-7 Kayabacho

Phone: +81-3-3664-9843

Sister store: てんぷら みかわ けやき坂店

Address: 6-12-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Phone: +81-3-3423-8100

Shops: てんぷら みかわ Hirokoji shop

Address: 3-41-5 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Phone: +81-3-3831-7056

Shop: Sukiyabashi Jiro (数寄屋橋次郎)

Address: 4-2-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Phone: +81-3-3535-3600

Shop: Xuewei

Address: 109, 1F, No. C2, Workers Stadium East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Phone: 15321285714

"People who have to deep fry 40 a day can't rate tempura very well anymore..."

"The so-called tempura as well as to go to the trip to the store of Xuewei to eat it made"

"Really want to do a good job, then, ingredients processing, oil and mild wrapped in syrup have their own requirements for different ingredients, some of the deep-fried clothes also have a difference"

"Northeastern famous dish fried potato box"

"Tempura is a variety of food coated with starch and fried! In our area (Canada) tempura is always served with fried broccoli"

"I had my mom's fried cucumber coated in flour when I was a kid, that was the first time I ever ate tempura -_-"

"By the way the Chinese in the US call it tempura, it's called sweet and not spicy. Luo called sweet not spicy, you guys feel it"

Eggplant Jun: "Fried chicken wings, fried bananas, fried eggplant, fried pork chops... So we are so close to Tempura"

Mushroom: "But as foodies, shouldn't you and I have more ambitious ambitions... Eating good food is king!"