Inside America's Only Michelin Star Tempura Restaurant

[melodic music]

Tempura Matsui is the only Michelin Star

tempura restaurant in the US.

I am executive chef.

I'm making sauces, sourcing ingredient.

My biggest responsibility is to make the batter.

So each chef has their own recipe.

Every day, even though I try to do the same amount water,

same amount flour,

because of the weather, humidity, I have to adjust.

It's very fun making tempura.

It's always changing.

I'm using all of my senses.

I'm looking, hearing, smelling, touching,

and, of course, I'm tasting.

[melodic music continues]

Hello.

Welcome to Tempura Matsui.

My name is Koichi Endo, executive chef.

Let's get inside.

[smooth jazz music]

So this is the main dining room.

This is my position,

just serving the tempura to the customers here.

We do have two sittings, 5:30 and 8 o'clock.

And right now, 11 o'clock,

so I have lots of prep, so get inside.

[smooth jazz music continues]

We got a lobster, abalone and uni.

We do have a couple appetizer after that,

starting a tempura 12 to 13 pieces.

So this is from the main, a lobster.

This is for the tempura.

This is say hello.

This is uni, sea urchin, from the Hokkaido.

So we make tempura for the uni, just two days,

the shipping from the Toyosu to directly JFK.

We do have so many choices of the uni.

For me, I like a bafun uni, which is good for the tempura.

It's getting more sweeter, so that's why I'm using.

Texture is also changing.

People know having a uni from the sushi, this is raw,

but at Tempura, they can experience totally different taste.

Usually I'm gonna taste one piece, and, it's very sweet.

This is from the Hokkaido abalone clam.

This is from Japan.

I'm gonna just clean and take this out of this clam.

This is from the tawashi,

which is Japanese traditional brush.

This is like a hay.

[upbeat music]

Like 200 years ago, just started those tempura,

originally coming from the Portuguese.

So, after came to Japan,

we're making just their own tempura style,

front of the customers, like all Matsui tempura.

So I'm gonna take this off from the shell.

Also, we using the liver too.

Actually, this part is a liver.

I'm gonna take this out, boil, then make a tempura.

So I think this one's gonna be more clear.

So those two different colors,

that's depends on the abalone eat different things.

Also the close to the sun,

who are more inside of the places,

it's gonna be kind of changes.

This is 3% of water. So this is cold sea salt.

That's close to the sea water.

I'm gonna take this off the mouth. This is the mouth.

So keep it cold also kill the bacteria too.

So those shell also, we are gonna using for tempura.

So I'm gonna sanitize all the shell. Put into the hot water.

This is gonna be finished, so meantime,

I'm gonna make tempura sauce.

[upbeat music continues]

So I'm gonna make a tempura sauce and a tendon sauce.

Before that, this is very important,

our restaurant got dashi seaweed.

Yesterday we put on the ice water with kelp,

keep in the refrigerator.

Then today heat it up little by little, getting warmer.

That's gonna be the very tasty kelp.

Then after that, I'm gonna put on the, this is the bonito,

This is dry fish, shredded.

It's 200 grams.

So those things combine, the money is coming.

So this is the base of all of my sauces.

So many different way to getting dashi.

So maybe some people don't do this,

but I just doing little boiling and to taste more.

Thick taste I need,

It depends on the food. More clear, more sensitive soup.

It cannot do like this.

After the put on the bonito, finish.

But for tempura sauces, those tendon sauce,

I need a more little thick, strong flavor.

We can make this second dashi

with boiling the the different ways.

So dashi is ready.

I'm gonna make a tempura sauce.

When we eat the tempura, we do have a two way,

with salt, with tempura sauce.

So this is very important.

We're gonna make a dashi, same ingredient, different ratio.

Right now I'm making double, so. Then this is a nigori.

Nigori is a sweet sake. Soy sauce.

I'm using Yamasa brand, which name is Honkaiseki.

This sauce, I'm using like about 10 years,

more than 10 years.

This is little sweet, but it's not too strong.

So I'm just burn off the alcohol little bit.

Also, soy sauce, little make it temperature high.

It's getting more mild.

Then also using again bonito too.

[smooth music]

I'm gonna make the next one, tendon sauce.

Tendon which is over rice with tempura.

This tendon sauce is a little sweet.

Same ingredient, different ratio. Dashi, dansauzen.

We do have a soy sauce.

That's why we don't need anything special.

Soy sauce complement the food.

Soy sauce created more than 300 years ago.

That's why we don't make other sauces.

Using always soy sauce then make with something together.

360. Was long time ago.

I just wanna be the musician.

Just musician, more than 30 years ago,

I used to play the saxophone.

I didn't have any talent.

That's why always I'm working for the restaurant.

So it linked my being a musician,

creating music and creating the food.

That's also show to tempura.

That's why I never regret that my life.

That's the sake. 360.

Sake has a deep flavor.

Then come the sugar, 50,

that the Johakuto sugar, more mild sweetness.

Then this one.

This is very simple that just after the sugar

is melted, that's it.

I'm gonna mix the oil because the service is coming.

[upbeat music]

This is taihaku goma abura,

which is a non-roasted sesame seed oil.

This is a cottonseed oil, in Japanese, menjitsu oil.

I mix with those two different oil together.

This is coming from Japan.

I just tried to define some of the oil,

this cottonseed from here.

But I totally different, purely it's different.

We do have a 5:30 seating then change.

Eight o o'clock ceiling, change. Every time fresh.

So tempura oil is always lighter.

Grocery store, Japanese grocery store,

you can find the roasted sesame oil.

This one has a strong flavor. It's little strong.

So that's why this is non-roasted.

It's good for the tempura

because I don't want flavor into the ingredient.

This is also good for the high temperature.

Cottonseed oil also the same character almost.

But also this one make it more crunchy.

Cottonseed make less greasy. That's why I'm using.

So this is my recipes. Each chef has their own recipe.

People think oil, it's not good for the health.

That's why I'm using the very fresh oil.

Always looking for the more new or better one.

So now I just started to heat it up.

In the meantime, I'm just started to make a batter.

[upbeat music]

This is a freezer, which is negative 62 degree.

I'm keeping the product inside before the night,

less chewing and then crispy.

This is a very fine white wheat flour.

Very fine one makes the lighter.

That's why I'm using this Super Bio.

And this is a cold water.

Everything I make cold because this chewing and crispy.

Also stop the gluten.

This is a organic cage-free egg.

I used to use only egg yolk. Now I change to whole egg.

Makes more airier.

Then use for the flour.

Same cup water, same cup flour.

I measuring, but depends on the weather,

depends on the temperature.

Even though using flour from Japan,

each bag has a little bit of different,

that's why it's not same.

So I have to check this. So always looking for the best way.

The move change the tempura,

so that's why I always be the best condition,

but it's human beings, so sometimes so sad.

I'm going to the spa or sauna.

When I was young it's go to drinking, hanging out.

[upbeat music] But now I think,

I gotta change my life to devote it to the tempura.

Now I'm just waiting for the oils ready

and the people coming, and to serve the tempura.

[upbeat music]

Welcome to Tempura Matsui.

Let's start the tempura.

To check that oil is hot enough,

I put on the batter into the hot oil.

If it's crisp up, it's them ready.

I don't use any thermometer, I'm just using my chopsticks.

Checking the sounds. Also the bubble.

So I don't use the thermometer

because I trust to the ingredient.

So each ingredient has a different temperature.

I'm gonna adjust the oil.

So this is a kuru mushroom coming from Japan.

Bring to the plates. Then sprinkle the salt.

[upbeat music continues]

We have a 13 to 14 courses tempura.

I started from the shrimp.

The shrimp, I think, that's the king of the tempura.

So I'm just telling the story starting from the shrimp,

Kuruma shrimp, same salt with lemon.

I serve the peak of the ingredient.

So it's very important to eat immediately.

[smooth music]

So when I just start this from the oil,

I shake it, it's very important so it's gonna be greasy.

So oil temperature is fluctuate.

I have to follow the ups and down.

I'm wanna control, sometime turn off, sometime on.

So this is the same shrimp now with a tempura sauce.

[smooth music continues]

So this is a special paper for the clean the oil.

Keep cleaning the oils because

to protect the damaging the oil.

[upbeat music]

If keeping same temperature all the time,

it's gonna be oil, it's gonna be die,

it's gonna be, doesn't have no power.

So at the end it doesn't work.

So uni wrapped with shiso leaves.

It's very fun to make in tempura.

It's always changing, chasing the oil.

I'm using the all of my sense.

Always talking to oil, communicating to the oil.

This is maitake mushroom.

I don't put salt or anything on the protein.

It's gonna be focused on the own ingredient to shine.

So I just powder with the flour. Basic ingredient.

So next one, abalone.

[upbeat music]

So I like all my customer service

because always I can show to the customer.

One second can change a whole dish.

That's why tempura is, it's very difficult.

So first service is now over. Thank you for coming today.

Sorry, you have to go. Bye.

[crew laughing]