The master chef of a tempura joint in Japan is amusing netizens with his ability to dunk his fingers into a pot of boiling oil without any issues.
Twitter user @Yuku1991 shared a video of the head chef and owner of Tenkin, the tempura joint in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture in action on Aug. 15.
現時点の人生で一番好きな飲食店は、浜松駅前にある天錦。税込1,000円で最高の天丼が食べられる。店主は職人技を極めすぎて天ぷら油に素手突っ込んで卵黄揚げてる。これ口で言うとみんなに「は?」って顔されるけど言葉通りのパフォーマンスだから動画で見て。 pic.twitter.com/Ycu20RBECe
— ゆく nʞnʎ (@Yuku1991) August 15, 2018
As seen in the video, the chef slides an egg yolk from a bowl in his left hand to his right and drops it into another bowl of tempura batter.
He then takes it back and lays it into a pan of deep, boiling cooking oil — with his fingers clearly making a plunge.
The unusual sight has Japanese Twitter speculating.
Some claimed that the chef only managed to do it because he already lost sensation in his right hand, according to SoraNews24.
However, user @taiyakiudon had a different opinion, pointing out that it could all be about the Leidenfrost effect.
Named after the 18th-century doctor and theologian Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, the Leidenfrost effect is a physical phenomenon in which a liquid, when placed near another substance hotter than its boiling point, creates an insulating layer of vapor that prevents it from boiling too quickly.
As such, the tempura batter on the chef’s hand and fingers supposedly protects him from burning when dunking into the boiling oil.
バズり始めたから提供前に天丼の蓋ジャグリングする動画もカッコいいから見て。 pic.twitter.com/gWe7RMzVet
— ゆく nʞnʎ (@Yuku1991) August 16, 2018
Regardless of how Tenkin’s tempura are made, they look even more amazing when served.
A bowl with shrimp, fish and egg costs 1,000 yen ($9).
Twitter users commented:
“That’s supernatural work!”
“I wonder if it hurts or not.”
“It’s been so long since I visited. Even if I come early, the line’s already long.”
“I will definitely go!”
“Now that’s some extreme skills.”
source-soranews/nextsharkasia