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.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
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!'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
7 hours ago
- HKFP
Two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific for first time, Japan says
Japan said Tuesday that two Chinese aircraft carriers had been seen operating in the Pacific for the first time as Beijing boosts its military capability in far-flung areas. On Monday, China's Shandong carrier and four other vessels, including a missile destroyer, sailed inside the Japanese economic waters surrounding the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori, Tokyo's defence ministry said. Its fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings there, the ministry said. The fleet of five warships was also seen sailing on Saturday 550 kilometres (340 miles) southeast of Miyako Island near Taiwan, it added. China's other operational aircraft carrier Liaoning and its fleet entered Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Pacific over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo previously said. 'This is the first time two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted operating in the Pacific at the same time,' a defence ministry spokesman told AFP on Tuesday. 'We believe the Chinese military's purpose is to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,' he said. China's use of naval and air assets to press its territorial claims has rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Japanese and US defence officials say China wants to push the American military out of the so-called 'first island chain' from Japan down through the Philippines. Eventually, its strategy is to dominate areas west of the 'second island chain' in the Pacific between Japan's remote Ogasawara Islands and the US territory of Guam, they say. The Liaoning's recent cruise eastwards marked the first time the Japanese defence ministry has said a Chinese aircraft carrier had crossed the second island chain. In September, the warship sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. At the time, Tokyo called that move 'unacceptable' and expressed 'serious concerns' to Beijing. Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline.
HKFP
a day ago
- HKFP
Chinese aircraft carrier enters Japan's economic waters, Tokyo says
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan's economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo's defence ministry said Monday. The Liaoning carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Japan's easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP. 'We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,' the spokesman said. China's growing military clout and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that the government had 'conveyed an appropriate message to the Chinese side' without saying it had lodged a formal protest. After the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels exited Japan's EEZ, fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said. Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added. Last month, the Liaoning sailed between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ, from the East China Sea into the Pacific while conducting take-offs and landings on deck, the ministry said. The carrier in September last year sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. At the time Tokyo called the move 'unacceptable' and expressed 'serious concerns' to Beijing. Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline. Late last month, Tokyo accused Beijing of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori.
RTHK
4 days ago
- RTHK
'Progress made' in Japan-US tariff talks
'Progress made' in Japan-US tariff talks Ryosei Akazawa says some progress has been made in tariff talks ahead of the G7 summit later this month. File photo: Reuters Japan has made some progress in a fifth round of trade talks with US officials aimed at ending tariffs that are hurting Japan's economy, according to Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator. "Tariffs have already been imposed on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum, and some of them have doubled to 50 percent along with 10 percent general tariff. These are causing daily losses to Japan's economy," Ryosei Akazawa, said in Washington on Friday after talks with officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Akazawa declined to say what progress they had made. The latest round of talks may be the last in-person meeting between senior Japanese and US officials before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders summit that starts on June 15, where US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan also faces a 24 percent tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. "We want an agreement as soon as possible. The G7 summit is on our radar, and if our leaders meet, we want to show what progress has been made," Akazawa said. "Still we must balance urgency with a need to guard our national interests," he added. Last month Japan's trade negotiator said US defence equipment purchases, shipbuilding technology collaboration, a revision of automobile import standards and an increase in agricultural imports could be bargaining chips in tariff talks. In a bid to reach an agreement with the US, Japan is also proposing a mechanism to reduce the auto tariff rate based on how much countries contribute to the US auto industry, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday. Akazawa said Japan's position has not changed and that the tariffs are not acceptable. (Reuters)
