Tempura
Shrimp and vegetables in an ultra-light, lace-thin batter, fried quickly in hot oil — the batter's lightness comes from ice-cold water and barely mixing it.
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Shellfish, Egg, Gluten, Soy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 8 shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails left on), slits cut along the belly to prevent curling
- 1 small sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds
- 1 small eggplant, sliced
- 4-5 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup ice-cold water
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup low-protein (cake) flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
- Oil, for deep-frying
- Tentsuyu dipping sauce: 1/2 cup dashi, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin
- Grated daikon radish, to serve
Steps
- Whisk the egg yolk into the ice-cold water. Add the sifted flour all at once and mix with chopsticks only until barely combined — leave visible lumps of dry flour; do not overmix.
- Keep the batter over ice while frying to keep it cold.
- Heat oil to 340-355°F (170-180°C) in a deep pot.
- Lightly dust the shrimp and vegetable pieces in dry flour, then dip into the cold batter, letting excess drip off.
- Fry a few pieces at a time (don't crowd the oil) for 1-2 minutes, until the batter is set and very lightly golden — tempura should stay pale, not deeply browned.
- Drain on a rack or paper towels. Serve immediately with warm tentsuyu dipping sauce and grated daikon.