May 14, 2011

Summary of Tempura Making/天ぷら作りのまとめ

The following is a summary of tempura making, with additional information.
天ぷら作りのまとめと、追加情報です。

Here is the equipment that I use to make tempura:
私が天ぷらを作るときに使う道具です。
I usually use the tempura pot and two or three pairs of cooking chopsticks only. I usually don't use the shifter, the pair of long, large chopsticks, the measuring cup, and the net for scooping tenkasu.
普段は天ぷら鍋と菜箸を2、3本使うだけです。普段は、ふるい、長くて大きな箸、計量カップ、天カスをすくう網は使いません。

A beginner should accurately measure the flour and water to tell what the standard tempura batter should be. Everyone is a beginner at first.
初心者は小麦粉と水を正確に測って、標準的な天ぷらの衣とはどんなものかを知るべきです。誰でも最初は初心者です。

Canola oil and hakurikiko (cake flour) that I used:
使ったキャノーラ油と薄力粉:
Use vegetable oil of your choice. Like I said before, I don't like to use sesame oil to make tempura.
好きな植物油を使って下さい。前に言ったように、私は天ぷらを作る時はごま油を使うのは好きではありません。

I guess that I need to clarify that there is Kanto-style tempura and Kansai-style tempura. The former is characterized by:
Use of sesame oil
Use of eggs in batter
More emphasis on fish and seafood than vegetables
Some tempura ya (restaurants specializing in tempura) use sesame oil only, while others combine sesame oil with other vegetable oil at a ratio of, say, 1:5. Use of sesame oil and egg in batter results in golden brown tempura. More emphasis on fish and seafood stems from the fact that in the Edo period, fish and seafood caught in Edo Bay (present Tokyo Bay) were often used for tempura, and sesame oil was used to mask the fishy flavor.
Kansai-style tempura is characterized by:
Use of vegetable oil other than sesame oil
Use of egg-less batter
More emphasis on vegetables than fish and seafood
I found one good site describing Kansai-style tempura:
Fujiyoshi
In Episode 6 of Kuitan, Kuitan's client complains about Kanto-style tempura being so dark.
Kuitan episode 6 (at around 3:05 in 2/4 of episode 6
In her thread, egullet member prasantrin talks about the tempura meal she had in Tokyo. I posted a photo of Kansai-style tempura to that thread (post #400).
Another difference is that in Kanto, tempura is often eaten with tentsuyu (dipping sauce for tempura), while in Kansai, tempura is often eaten without tentsuyu or with salt or other condiment.
関東風の天ぷらと関西風の天ぷらがあることをはっきりさせる必要があると思います。前者の特徴は:
ごま油を使う
衣に卵を使う
野菜よりも魚介類を重視
ごま油しか使わない天ぷら屋もあり、ごま油を他の植物油と、例えば1:5の割合で混ぜる天ぷら屋もあります。ごま油を使い、衣に卵を使うので、天ぷらは、きつね色になります。魚介類を重視するのは、江戸時代、江戸湾(現在の東京湾)で捕れた魚介類をよく天ぷらにしていたからで、魚臭さを消すため、ごま油が使われました。
関西風天ぷらの特徴は:
ごま油以外の植物油を使う
卵の入ってない衣を使う
魚介類より野菜を重視
関西風の天ぷらを説明する、いいサイトがありました:
Fujiyoshi
喰いタンの第六話で、喰いタンの依頼者が関東風の天ぷらは色が濃いと文句をいいます(第六話の2/4の3:05頃)。
Kuitan episode 6
このスレッドで、egulletのメンバーのprasantrinさんが東京で食べた天ぷらについて語っています。私は関西風の天ぷらの写真を載せました(post #400)。
また、関東では、天ぷらは天つゆで食べることが多いですが、関西では天つゆなしで、または塩など他の調味料で食べることが多いです。

I'd also like to talk about the difference between tempura ya style tempura and soba ya (buckwheat noodle restaurant) style tempura.
The former is characterized by tempura with thin coating that is meant to be eaten immediately after made. The latter is characterized by tempura with thick coating that is often made in advance. Some soba ya style tempura, particularly prawn tempura (ebi ten), gets more coating while being fried to produce flowers.
You can view examples of tempura ya style tempura served at Tempura Kondo here.
Tempura Kondo is a very famous tempura ya in Tokyo.
You can view example of soba ya style tempura here in my blog.
I made tempura ya style prawn tempura once, using very thin batter. I popped one piece in my mouth immediately after deep-frying. It was one of the best pieces of tempura I had ever had. Later, my wife remarked, "It's not tasty." after having one piece that had already cooled down, and I had to agree. Less coating means less tasty once the tempura cools down.
One possible reason for less coating at a tempura ya is that the customer can have more pieces of less coated tempura, which means the tempura ya can make more money.
また、天ぷら屋の天ぷらとそば屋の天ぷらの違いにも触れたいと思います。
前者の天ぷらは衣が薄く、また、作ってからすぐに食べるようになっています。後者の天ぷらは衣が厚く、また事前に作っておくことが多いです。そば屋の天ぷらの中には、特に海老天の場合、揚げている最中にさらに衣をつけ、「花を咲かせる」こともあります。
「天ぷら近藤」で出されている天ぷら屋の天ぷらの例をここで見れます。
天ぷら近藤は東京にある、とても有名な天ぷら屋です。
そば屋の天ぷらの例は、私のブログのここで見れます。
一度、とても薄い衣で海老天を作ったことがあります。揚げてからすぐ、一つつまみました。今まで食べた中で一番美味しい天ぷらでした。その後、妻が、冷めたのを食べた後に、「美味しくない」と言いました。私も同意せざるを得ませんでした。衣が薄いということは、冷めると美味しくない、ということです。
天ぷら屋の天ぷらの衣が薄い、考えられる一つの理由は、衣が薄い天ぷらはお客さんがいっぱい食べれて、そうすると、天ぷら屋が儲かるからです。

To be continued.
続く。

31 comments:

  1. Hiroyuki, I don't know what to say. I'm speechless. You are officially my tempura sensei! I should learn all your advice, tips and information by heart. All the tempura posts were extremely interesting and helpful. Straining the hot oil is such a good idea. And the aonori you add to your batter, I'm sure it must be delicious. I once deep fried something with nori and nori gave it a wonderful fresh fish taste (I must post it soon). When I made asparagus tempura my husband said it was good but lacked salt, and now I see you add salt sometimes! I will stop here because I could go one for hours with all what I appreciate in your tempura guide.

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  2. I have been thinking about Kuitan, but this episode must be in the second season... I don't remember tempura at all and I think I have already seen the 6 first episodes. (By the way I enjoy all the food series enormously, but the one I have fallen in love with is definitely Shinya Shokudo, I even like the song at the beginning).

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  3. Sissi: I like Shinsha Shokudo, too! The sad love story in episode 7 makes me cry...

    I like the opening song, too.
    You can listen to the whole song here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atPamBoCZPI

    Do you know the original song?
    A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEQq6_d62Qk

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  4. Thankyou so much for all the great info - both about how to make tempura and the differences between kanto and kansai styles. I didn't realise that the addition of egg was kanto.

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  5. This topic so much interesting!
    So Hiroさん, what do you recommend for tempura's crunchy-texture lasting longer even it's already cold?
    I've been thinking about this long time ago... Still, I couldn't find any good solution :(

    thanks!
    ---

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  6. Hiroyuki, thank you for the links. I had no idea there was an original song. I still prefer the Japanese one! I cried several times during the Shinya Shokudo... Not only during the sad stories, but also beautiful and moving moments. (And I don't cry easily during the films). It's so sad there is only one season.

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  7. Inez: Thanks for your comment. There's so much to talk about tempura, and I haven't yet written all the information I'd like to tell you.

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  8. fred: That's one of the topics in the final post on tempura making.
    Add up to 20% starch like cornstarch or potato starch (katakuriko in Japanese) to your batter. The more starch you add to your batter, the harder the tempura will be.

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  9. Sissi: I like the Japanese version, too! The two songs don't sound the same anyway, except the initial parts. The name of the Japanese version is Omoide (Memories).

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  10. Is that an egg yolk also affects the result? (thinking about when I made tenpura without egg solution)

    And so, thanks for the advanced advice! I'd like to starts read all of your post here...
    ---

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  11. fred: That's another topic I will talk about in a future post.

    In short, I learned from several sites that batter with yolk only results in crispier tempura, but I didn't notice any difference.

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  12. Looking for your next post.w
    Maybe I should have to try it too!
    ---

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  13. Sorry not food related: Shinya Shokudo Introsong: I knew it sound too familiar (bothered me a long time...earworm), it is gaelic. One nice version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehx2WL_pBAg&feature=related
    (I like also Clannads fullfledged version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHlWZg5tpZw&feature=related)

    Still waiing for my Shinya Shokudo DVD-Set. Dam* amazon.. Best the cat food story, heart wrentching

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  14. Kiki: Thanks for the URLs. Both versions are much better the original!

    Still waiting?? You mean you have ordered a DVD set?? Wow!

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  15. ひろゆきさん、
    天ぶらのレシペはとてもありがとうごさいました。
    Every summer I look forward to making sarusoba and kakiage. I don't have much luck with tempura because my batter always too doughy. With you detail instruction I will attempt to try again.

    Sissi san,
    Shinya shokudo is one of my favourites; every so often I will watch them over again. It is too bad they only produced so few episodes.

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  16. Zarusoba (I suppose you mean zarusoba) and kakiage? That sounds delicious, although I am a hiyamugi guy. Sadly, my wife and children prefer somen...

    Seems like Shinya Shokudo is a favorite of everyone!

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  17. Thanks for catching the mistake! I do mean to say zarusoba; I certainly don't want 'monkey soba'. I bet you had a good laugh!

    I often get ざ and さ mixed up!

    笑!

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  18. Hiroyuki: yes I ordered the dvd. This series collection deserved it to get bought. I like this special atmosphere very much: Lonley hearts and all of them - a tiny little bit of the track - receiving absolution. Wonder why they did'nt make another season. There are so many stories to be told. Late at night everything is possible.
    Watched a j-drama where they made Udon-noodle dough. The dough went into a plastic bag and they just stepped on it (knead by foot-force). Tried it with my last noodle-dough - great! Usually I beat the dough at the board (you need a really bad temper to make a good noodle dough as my grandmother told me and muscles too) it is much easier to step on it (laugh).

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  19. okasan: Actually, I first thought it was sakura soba (buckwheat noodles with cherry leaves in them)...

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  20. Thank you for all the interesting information. Since all I have to go by are the recipes in my cook books, I find it very helpful to have someone go into more depth on the subject.
    I think I will like the aonori in the batter.

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  21. The more everyone talks about Shinya Shokudo the more I want to watch the episodes once more...
    I think it is so universal, it would be a cult series even in Europe.
    Kiki: I hope you'll get the dvd soon! I have never had problems with amazon until now... I have read about the "feet"method" with udon in a cooking book (Harumi's Japanese Cooking) and thought I might try it one day! I don't have much muscles in my hands or arms, but legs' use sounds strong enough ;-)

    Hiroyuki: noodles with cherry leaves??? wow! I put it on my "must try when I go to Japan" list (I already have there pickled cherry blossoms, pickled wasabi stems and wasabi pork sausages, things I can only dream of getting here).
    Yesterday I tried to make snow peas tempura. Very strange... I think tempura doesn't work with flat, smooth surface. They only bloated in a funny way and were very greasy (although finally a bit covered in tempura).
    I will buy shrimp today and will try shrimp tempura soon! (although will not prepare myself for the belly-cutting method to work)

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  22. Kiki: Funny, in Japan, they say, "Grate daikon when you are angry (and the grated daikon will be more pungent).

    I wonder if stepping on the dough to knead it is peculiar to Japan.

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  23. Barb: You can get aonori where you like? That's great! Enjoy the aonori flavor!

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  24. Sissi:
    Example of sakura soba:
    http://www.sanoseimen.com/products/7.html

    Example of sakura ba soba:
    http://www.sanoseimen.com/products/3.html

    They both contains powdered cherry leaves, but the former is colored pink.

    Snow pea tempura? Wow, I've never made it before! I did some googling and found that dusting snow peas before coating with batter may help the batter adhere well. And, be cautious! Snow peas may explode while being deep-fried. When making shishito (type of green pepper) tempura, for example, you need to make some holes with a tookpick or something.

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  25. Hiroyuki, thank you for the advice! So my snowpeas were bloating and I was lucky to get them out very quickly, otherwise they would explode. Logical. I haven't thought about it.
    Next time I'll try flour dusting and will make some holes in it.
    Thank you for the soba photos. I am wondering if there is a tiny chance of finding them in the biggest of the three Japanese grocers I have... They have quite a big choice of soba and noodles in general.

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  26. Sissi: I have never had sakura soba or sakura ba soba before myself (sigh)! I guess cha soba (green tea leaf buckwheat noodles) is much easier to get by.

    About shrimp tempura, I know what to do to prevent the shrimp from curling, but it always end up curling...

    Here's how:
    1. Make several cuts on the belly.
    2. Place the shrimp on the cutting board, belly side down, and squash the muscle at several locations with the index finger and thumb until it "snaps".

    When preparing shrimp for tempura, be sure to cut off the end of the tail diagonally and remove water,
    like this:
    http://egullet.org/p1329194
    See the second photo in that post.

    Speaking of tempura, I'm getting hungry again!

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  27. Hiroyuki, thank you so much for the shrimp advice and for the link. I think I am not very talented... I have made shrimp tempura tonight, I have cut the bellies, squashed the shrimps... They were good, but of course all curled and I haven't obtained the beautiful tempura drops (even though the tempura was lumpy)... I will keep on trying though.
    I think I saw last time the green tea soba. At least I'll be able to taste those!

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  28. Sissi: Don't worry! This was your first attempt, right?
    Keep on trying?? Are you planning to open a tempura ya in your country? (laugh)

    I like cha soba! It's especially good on a hot summer day! Chill it really well!

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  29. Yes, it was my first attempt with the shrimps. My shrimps were also different (I mean the variety was different). I have never seen the kind of shrimps I see on your blog or on other Japanese blogs in Swiss shops.
    It would be wonderful if there was a tempura shop in Switzerland.. They open one sushi restaurants after the other and no one thinks about other thousands of the Japanese delicious dishes.
    I was so tired yesterday after having prepared only about 20 shrimps, it was so hot in the kitchen... I can't imagine how tempura chefs must be exhausted.

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  30. Sissi: There are only a few Swiss restaurant even in Tokyo, so we are even (laugh).

    Japan's first Swiss restaurant:
    http://r.gnavi.co.jp/b022200/

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  31. "Swiss chalet" ;-) Incredible!!! I bet they serve the cheese fondue! The Swiss cheese is good, but the Swiss cuisine is very simple and quite limited in the number of dishes and could never be compared to the Japanese one! (What is more, many dishes, such as the famous fondue or raclette, are also traditional in the neighbouring French regions...).

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