After the cooks who left the kitchen return with the fishes I ordered to take, I start to teach them about tempura recipe like what I already teach to Craig in the salt camp."Alright, first we make batter dough for tempura. I need wheat flour, egg, potato starch, water, salt and cooking oil prepared. Also, clean the fishes from its scales"
One cooks immediately prepared what I"m asking for while the other cooks clean the fishes.
After the cooks that take the ingredients return to the kitchen with the ingredients, I start to make the batter to coating the fish fillet. I"m not making too much batter since I"m just teaching them the recipe, not cook dinner for the whole castle residents.
For the tempura batter, I mix 100 g flour and 2 tablespoon potato starch together. After those ingredient mixed, I separated from the rest. Then I crack the egg into the bowl and beat the egg roughly until the white of egg and yolk mixed after that I add one cup water into the egg bowl and stir the mixture until they mixed evenly. Then I put one-third of the mixed flour into egg mixture and stir it gently using a fork. After all mix together, I add another one-third mixed flour again and stir until mixed with egg mixture. When it already mixed together, I add the last one-third mixed flour and the salt then mixed it again until between egg, salt and flour all mixed together
After the tempura batter is done, I continue with making the fish fillet. This time, my special knife that used to process fish shows its ability. I can see those cooks looking with admiration on how fast my hands working on the fishes with that knife.
"Incredible! Young master Henry"s hand like dancing with that knife on the fish meat"
"So fast! Like a master in swordsmanship…only this time young master Henry using kitchen knife instead of a sword"
Doesn"t much time, I already make some fish fillets with my knife. Next thing to do is make the tempura.
After coating the fish fillet with the batter, I put them into the pan and frying it for 1-2 minutes only to keep the fish meat stay fresh and not overcooked. With only 1-2 minutes frying time, not take for a long time before all coated fish fillet finished to fry.
"Like tacos which taste better with salsa sauce, this tempura also tastier if eaten with sauce. I will show you another sauce to make, please prepare eggs, lemon, olive oil, and some salt"
One cooks hurriedly preparing the ingredients that I"m asking for.
After finish frying the fish, the next thing to make is dipping sauce. The easiest one to make is mayonnaise sauce. With egg, lemon essence, olive oil, a little bit salt that will be done. First I put lemon essence in the bowl, and then I add a bit salt, beat the egg over the bowl and dip some olive oil over the egg. I wait for a minute until the mixtures stabilize before I stir them with high speed. Although easy to make, there"s no blender in this world, with blender, a simple mayonnaise sauce can be made within 5 minutes while in this "pure handmade" world, it would need strong arms that able to stir the mixtures in high speed within around 15 minutes. Fortunately, after h.e.l.lish training in the spirit realm with master Durnham, I feel my const.i.tution and body getting stronger than before.
I slowed down the stirring after the mixture become blended and incorporated together into a thick solution. Then the mayonnaise sauce is done and ready to serve.
"This sauce called mayonnaise. As you see, to make this sauce needs strong arms to able to stir the mixtures for such a long time. In the future, maybe I will make a specialization in cooking. Some people will be responsible to make the sauce while other people in charge for other dishes, maybe for soup, for a meat dish, so the taste will not differ too much because only made by certain people"
"Young master Henry, is this tempura dish only use fish for the main ingredient? Can we use meat instead of fish?"
A cook is raising a good question to me.
"Good question. The answer is possible but the taste maybe will be awful. The fish can be replaced with certain vegetable, thou"
I mention some vegetables that can be used for vegetable tempura.
"But I must remind you, this vegetable tempura is only tasted good to eat when still warm. If this vegetable tempura is eaten when already cold, it loses the crispiness. So this dish must be cooked and served fast"
"Yes! We will remember that, young master Henry!"
The cooks reply it in unison. I satisfied with their response and since I already teach them a new recipe and a new sauce, it"s time for them to practice what they just learn.
"Alright…Don"t delay your job to cook dinner. You can start practicing what you"ve just learned. By the way, is there anyone here who good at graving?"
The cooks look at each other, it seems they confused with the last sentence from my words.
"Excuse me, young master, do you mean graving like those carpenters does with the woods for furniture?"
"Yes, something likes that"
They look at each other again while exchanging same question "can you?" but it seems no cooks in the kitchen ever have experience with graving. No one raises their hand as the reply that they know how to graving. Oh well, maybe I should search graving talents from carpenter place instead. When I already have no hope on that, one cooks raise his hand
"Young master, my grandfather used to be a carpenter. He ever teaches me how to graving woods when I was a kid but that long time ago and maybe I"m not that good in graving"
Oh? Finally, there"s someone with graving experience in here. Well, even though he said he maybe not good in graving, as long as he knows how to graving that"s enough.
"Good. You come here and sit near me, I want to show you something and I hope you can learn it and later teach that to your colleague here"
"Yes, young master"
"The rest of you, continue your work"
I take that cooks to sit with me in the nearby table. I also prepare a large plate to place my works there.