Tempura

Method20 steps · about 40 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Bring all the prepared dashi and mirin (3 tbsp) to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat.

   Uses 180 ml prepared unsalted bonito-and-kelp dashi · 3 tbsp mirin

2. 2

   Step 2: Add all the soy sauce (3 tbsp). As soon as the sauce returns to a boil, turn off the heat and set it aside to serve warm.

   Uses All the hot dashi-mirin mixture · 3 tbsp soy sauce

3. 3

   Step 3: Wash the small eggplant (1) and discard its stem. Halve it lengthwise, then halve each piece crosswise to make four pieces. With the skin upward, make lengthwise cuts five millimetres apart in each piece, leaving one and a half centimetres attached at the narrow end so it fans open.

   Uses 1 small eggplant ((about 80g (2.8oz), Note 2)) · Water to wash the eggplant

4. 4

   Step 4: Trim away the hard base of the enoki and divide the mushrooms into four bunches. Wrap one nori strip around each root end; lightly wet its end so it sticks and holds the bunch together.

   Uses 50 g enoki mushrooms · 4 roasted yaki nori strips, each 5 × 1 cm · A little water to seal the nori ends

5. 5

   Step 5: Wash and peel the carrot (50 g), then cut all fifty grams into thin matchsticks about five centimetres long.

   Uses 50 g carrot · Water to wash the carrot

6. 6

   Step 6: Remove the heads, peel and devein all twelve prawns, leaving the last shell segment and tail attached. Lift out the vein with a toothpick if necessary without slitting along the back. Make three shallow slits across the underside of each prawn to limit curling.

   Uses 12 medium raw prawns

7. 7

   Step 7: Keep the egg (1), measured water and flour well chilled before mixing, preferably overnight. Mix the egg and all two hundred millilitres cold water until no clumps of egg white remain.

   Uses 1 egg · 200 ml chilled water for batter

8. 8

   Step 8: Put two thirds of the egg-water mixture and one hundred and sixty millilitres of the chilled flour in a separate bowl. Gently draw a figure eight through it a few times, leaving floury lumps. Refrigerate the remaining one third of egg mixture and eighty millilitres flour for refreshing the batter before frying prawns.

   Uses Two thirds of the complete mixed egg and water · 160 ml of the 240 ml chilled flour

   
9. 9

   Step 9: Fill a deep pan with canola oil to a depth of at least three centimetres. Heat to 170°C for the vegetables, using a frying thermometer.

   Uses Canola oil to a depth of at least three centimetres

10. 10

    Step 10: Wash the four shiso leaves and pat them, the prepared vegetables and prawns dry. Fry like ingredients together in small batches, vegetables first and prawns last. Keep no more than thirty to forty per cent of the oil surface occupied so the oil stays hot.

    Uses All four cut eggplant pieces · All four tied mushroom bunches · All the cut carrot · All prepared prawns, held separately for last · 4 shiso leaves (Japanese perilla, Note 4) · Water to wash the shiso leaves

    
11. 11

    Step 11: Dip the dry eggplant fans in the prepared batter. Fry in the 170°C oil for about forty-five to sixty seconds, until they float with large bubbles. Turn and fry for about forty-five seconds more, until tender, light when lifted and very lightly browned. Drain on a wire rack; repeat small batches if needed.

    Eggplant tempura per batch, both sides · 2 minUses All four eggplant pieces · Enough prepared batter to coat the eggplant · The same hot frying oil

12. 12

    Step 12: Hold each dry enoki bunch by its nori-wrapped end and dip the stems in batter, leaving the nori uncoated. Fry at 170°C for ten to twenty seconds, turn and fry for a few seconds more, until the delicate coating is crisp and the mushroom stems cooked. Drain on the rack.

    Uses All four prepared bunches · Enough remaining prepared batter for the enoki · The same hot frying oil

13. 13

    Step 13: Hold each dry shiso leaf by its stem and dip only its back into the batter. Place it in the 170°C oil battered-side down. Fry for five to ten seconds until crisp, then drain on the rack.

    Shiso tempura per small batch · 1 minUses All four prepared leaves · Enough remaining batter for the backs of four leaves · The same hot frying oil

14. 14

    Step 14: Mix all the carrot sticks into the remaining vegetable batter. Put about a quarter of the carrots on a flat wooden spatula and slide them into the 170°C oil as a small cluster. Fry for about sixty seconds, turn and fry for another forty-five to sixty seconds, until crisp and cooked. Drain on the rack and repeat to make four carrot clusters.

    Carrot tempura cluster, both sides · 2 minUses All the carrot sticks · Enough remaining batter to coat the carrot · The same hot frying oil

15. 15

    Step 15: Add the reserved chilled one-third egg-water mixture and eighty millilitres flour to the batter bowl. Mix gently with a few figure-eight strokes, avoiding overworking any older batter at the bottom.

    Uses The reserved final one third of the mixed egg and water · Reserved 80 ml of the 240 ml chilled flour · Any batter remaining in the bowl

16. 16

    Step 16: Raise the frying oil temperature to 180°C for the prawns.

    Uses The retained same frying oil

17. 17

    Step 17: Hold each dry prawn by its tail and dip the flesh in refreshed batter, leaving the tail uncoated. Fry in small batches at 180°C for about sixty seconds, turn and fry for a further forty-five to sixty seconds. The coating should be crisp and the prawn flesh opaque and fully cooked; continue if needed. Drain on the rack and repeat with all twelve.

    Prawn tempura per batch, both sides · 2 minUses All twelve prepared prawns · Enough refreshed batter to coat the prawns · The same hot oil at the higher temperature

18. 18

    Step 18: Arrange the cooked tempura on four plates: one eggplant fan, one enoki bunch, one carrot cluster, one shiso leaf and three prawns per person.

    Uses All four fried eggplant fans · All four fried mushroom bunches · All four fried leaves · All four fried carrot clusters · All twelve fried prawns

    
19. 19

    Step 19: Gently squeeze excess water from the grated daikon (4 tbsp). Divide all four tablespoons between the four plates and top each daikon portion with a quarter of the teaspoon of grated ginger (1 tsp).

    Uses All four assembled plates · 4 tbsp grated daikon (white radish) · 1 tsp grated ginger

20. 20

    Step 20: Serve immediately while the tempura is hot and crisp, with the warm dipping sauce in four small bowls. Add daikon and ginger to the sauce while eating if you like.

    Uses All four finished plates · All the prepared sauce divided into four dipping bowls