Dish in Focus: Sweetcorn tempura at Yardbird
Yakitori restaurant Yardbird has garnered a cult following among Hongkongers since its opening in 2011. Known for its extensive menu of more than 20 types of skewers – grilling local 'three-yellow chicken' from neck to knee and tendon to tail – the Sheung Wan izakaya was once identified on weekends by its queue outside due to its walk-in-only policy.
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Rest assured, tables can now be booked, but that hasn't stopped diners from spilling out of Yardbird's doors. Owned and operated by
entrepreneur Lindsay Jang and chef Matt Abergel, Yardbird is a family-style neighbourhood restaurant that combines quality food with good drinks, great service, and a fun and friendly environment.
Yardbird is a family-style neighbourhood restaurant that combines quality food with good drinks, great service, and a fun and friendly environment. Photo: Handout
The restaurant might be centred around chicken, as its 2018
Chicken and Charcoal cookbook suggests, but for those on the hunt for veggie dishes, Yardbird doesn't disappoint. Its menu also consists of rice and noodles, soup, smaller sharing dishes (like the Yardbird caesar or eggplant salad) and bigger sides. This is where the famous sweetcorn tempura can be found, and it's a good representation of Yardbird's signature style, says co-founder Abergel.
Abergel describes their way of cooking as 'using good techniques to let people taste an ingredient in its fullest essence'. This is exactly what the tempura delivers.
Matt Abergel, chef and co-founder of Yardbird. Photo: Handout
Using fresh sweetcorn sourced locally, the kernels are cut from the cob using a circular Japanese technique called marugiri. 'This allows us to take off the corn from the cob without too much of the juice getting out and without taking the bottom of the kernel, to avoid it popping in the oil,' Abergel explains.
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Mixed and made to order, the cut corn is then simply coated in flour and combined with small amounts of tempura batter until sticky. 'We then cover our hands in flour and form about 110g of corn into a ball, and drop it directly into a 180-degree fryer. We fry for about two and a half minutes until golden brown on the outside and just cooked on the inside. We then season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately!'
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For example, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently proposed that South Korea and Japan could respond to US pressure by jointly purchasing liquefied natural gas from the US, 'to increase deal size and leverage greater buying power to secure lower prices.' This type of approach could be applied in other areas. Tokyo and Seoul could also quietly consult on their respective bottom lines, to avoid one government taking a 'bad' deal with the US that sets a negative precedent for the other. Third, Japan and South Korea can build upon the foundation of the last two years to cultivate more widespread support for improving bilateral ties among their domestic stakeholders including legislators, civil society organizations, scholars and the general public. There have already been modest improvements in the two countries' public sentiment toward each other, and now is the time to build on this momentum. 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For example, Lee, the new president, has already announced that he will be attending the June summit of the G7, which is an important venue for South Korea to consult with other like-minded countries as a guest. Japan and South Korea can continue to strengthen their cooperation with NATO as part of the 'Indo-Pacific 4.' The two countries should also explore ways to shore up the international economic system through broader trade initiatives. For example, they could work together to revitalize discussions on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific at the APEC summit in Gyeongju in November, and South Korea could considering joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership as well as the WTO's Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement. Participation in such minilateral initiatives will help further reinforce and stabilize Japan-South Korea bilateral efforts. The path ahead will not be easy. Internal politics in both countries are complex, and leaders will have to balance competing domestic and foreign policy priorities moving forward. The grievances that haunt Japan-South Korea relations cannot simply be ignored, and it will require careful, sustained effort to find mutually acceptable resolutions. However, taking steps now to put Japan-South Korea relations on a more resilient footing will help to facilitate these difficult conversations – and the costs of not cooperating will increase if the international system becomes more unstable. Kristi Govella ( is an associate professor of Japanese politics and international relations at the University of Oxford and senior advisor and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
