Why is tempura so much more expensive than KFC when both are fried shrimp?
Compared to high-end Japanese cuisine like sushi and kaiseki, tempura is often seen by many as a casual snack to be eaten with meals—simply shrimp coated in batter and quickly fried in oil, similar to KFC's shrimp. However, this seemingly simple dish is far more complex than it appears. This common fried food in Japanese cuisine requires meticulous attention to detail, down to the second, from the selection of ingredients to the cooking process.
Today, as a professional tempura batter supplier, Ultimate will delve into the complexities of tempura. Commonly, Japanese cuisine is often perceived as light, sweet, and emphasizing the original flavor of the ingredients. Sushi, sashimi, ramen, soba noodles, and even grilled skewers from izakayas are all known for their delicate flavors. Tempura, however, seems to clash with these common Japanese dishes in terms of cooking methods and flavor.
During the Edo period in the 16th and 17th centuries, Portuguese missionaries introduced Western-style frying techniques to Japan, giving birth to the modern version of tempura. By the late Edo period, tempura, a deep-fried dish of fish, shrimp, and vegetables coated in crispy batter, had become one of the most popular foods, even ranking alongside sushi and soba noodles as one of the "Three Flavors of Edo."
In the culinary world of tempura, there is also a "God of Tempura"—Tetsuya Sayao. These Japanese culinary masters have an almost obsessive pursuit of perfection when it comes to their beloved foods. This applies to sushi, and it applies to tempura as well.
Every piece of good tempura must achieve a perfect balance of oil and water, sweetness and umami, texture and flavor. The intricacies involved are far more profound than one might imagine. Since it's "fried food," the frying oil is naturally one of the essential elements of tempura. For tempura, the frying oil must be light to ensure a delicate and non-greasy texture. The oil flavor cannot be too strong, lest it overpower the natural flavor of the ingredients. In addition to the oil's refining degree and antioxidant properties, the flavor of tempura also varies.
The batter coating the food rapidly dehydrates after being placed in the oil, creating countless tiny pores. Hot oil then enters through these pores, heating the food and continuously forcing out moisture. The oil temperature for frying tempura is typically maintained at a high of 180°C, but the internal temperature of the tempura often remains below 100°C until all the moisture has evaporated. Although it's "fried" in the oil, the tempura's interior is essentially "steamed."
Besides these factors, the batter temperature, stirring, and even the choice of eggs are all crucial. To avoid gluten formation, the batter must be made with ice water and should not be over-stirred with chopsticks. For eggs, egg whites result in fluffy and stable tempura, while egg yolks produce a crispy, golden-brown texture. The choice between egg whites, yolks, or whole eggs depends entirely on the ingredients and experience.
Even frying the most iconic dish, shrimp tempura, is not as simple as it seems. To bring out the sweetness of the shrimp, the shrimp meat must be fresh, the batter thin, the oil temperature consistently at 180℃, and the frying time precisely 24 seconds! Shrimp fried this way has a light, crispy batter while the shrimp meat inside remains semi-cooked, resulting in a delicious, incredibly sweet and fresh flavor.
The world of tempura is incredibly rich, and the common ingredients are far more numerous than those mentioned above. Due to space limitations, we cannot list them all in detail. If we have inadvertently omitted your favorite, please feel free to leave a comment below and share it with everyone. As a Japanese dish on par with sushi and kaiseki, tempura may seem simple, but it is indeed a very profound culinary art. Tetsuya Sagami, the "God of Tempura," often said, "Every time I fry tempura, I must bring it to its most perfect state; not a fraction more or less. My tempura cannot be just 'almost,' but rather strives for that 'just right' point."
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Celia Wang
SHIPULLER ULTIMATE(DEZOU)FOOD CO.,LTD
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