Hanging In the Kitchen: Zuma

I love it when I get to hang out in a restaurant kitchens, especially ones so clean you can eat off the counter tops. I was at a photo shoot of Zuma's Chef Matt this afternoon. He had to prepare two dishes, and we were taking casual "action" shots of him chopping tomatoes and dehusking corn. During the shoot, somehow it came up that I haven't bothered to eat tempura outside of Japan after my unforgettable meal in Kyoto's Tenyu. Once the food shots were done, there was a bowl of leftover corn he had deftly carved off the stalk. I tried a handful, and it was incredibly sweet.

"What are you going to do with the corn?" I asked, still munching, thinking he might just let me finish it off.

"Since you haven't had tempura in a while, I'll make tempura with it," Chef Matt replied.

And off he went into the kitchen to heat up the tempura oil. I was walking outside the glass walls of the kitchen, hoping to catch a glimpse of the frying action when he invited me into the kitchen. Everything was spic-n-span. It's in plain view to the restaurant, so it would have to be. The oil in the tempura fryers had just been changed after the lunch service.

Here are the kitchen shots. As I was taking them, I couldn't help wondering what would happen if I were to drop my iPhone into the hot oil:

Chef Matt about to make corn tempura...

M

Mixing the corn with flour and batter...

Testing the oil temperature; it's ready!

 And in goes the corn...

Sizzle, sizzle...

Done!

With just a few flakes of sea salt and pepper...light and yummy...