Inside America's Only Michelin Star Tempura Restaurant | On The Line | Bon Appétit

Quick Overview

Executive Chef Koichi Endo of Tempura Matsui, the only Michelin-starred tempura restaurant in the US, details his meticulous daily routine, which emphasizes using high-quality, freshly imported ingredients and maintaining precise cooking conditions for his signature tempura dishes, including his proprietary sauces and techniques for preparing items like abalone and uni.

Key Points: Tempura Matsui is the only Michelin-starred tempura restaurant in the US, located in New York. Chef Endo arrives at 9:00 AM to begin preparations, starting with cleaning premium ingredients like abalone, which is scrubbed with a natural brush and boiled in hot water. Sauce making begins at 9:30 AM, where Endo prepares his proprietary Dashi and Tentsuyu sauces, adjusting sweetness and depth based on the day's weather/humidity. The oil temperature for frying is constantly monitored, fluctuating between 338°F and 347°F (170°C to 175°C) to ensure ingredients like shrimp and maitake mushrooms achieve the perfect, non-greasy crispness. Endo uses specific high-quality ingredients imported from Japan, such as cotton seed oil (non-roasted) and sesame oil, and pre-measured ingredients like 60 grams of sugar for his sauce. The dining show begins at 1:30 PM, where tempura is served piece-by-piece directly to the customer with specific dipping salts or sauces, exemplified by dipping shrimp tempura in sauce or eating Maitake mushroom tempura with salt. Endo emphasizes that maintaining consistency across all 13-14 courses is difficult, requiring constant sensory checks on temperature, taste, and texture.

Context: This video provides an intimate look into the daily operations and philosophy of Executive Chef Koichi Endo at Tempura Matsui, his Michelin-starred tempura restaurant in the US. The narrative follows his intensive preparation process from early morning, detailing his commitment to sourcing specific, high-quality ingredients, making custom sauces, and maintaining exacting cooking standards throughout the service day.