Tempura ,Japanese Way
Submitted by grayfoxbcn
Traditional Japanese tempura with a light, crispy cold-water batter and homemade tentsuyu dipping sauce. Works for vegetables, shrimp, fish, and squid with authentic frying techniques.
YIELD
1 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
40 minREADY
50 minTempura is all about restraint. A thin, barely-there batter, screaming hot oil, and quick frying that leaves vegetables and seafood crisp on the outside and barely cooked through. This recipe follows the traditional Japanese method, including a homemade tentsuyu dipping sauce built on dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sake.
The single most important thing here: use ice-cold water for the batter. Cold water keeps the gluten in the flour from developing, which is what gives tempura that shatteringly light coat instead of a heavy, bready shell. Mix the batter quickly and leave it slightly lumpy. Overworking it turns your tempura into fritters.
The recipe also includes a splash of dry white wine in the batter, which adds a subtle acidity and helps keep things crisp. Dredge fish pieces in flour before dipping them in batter so it adheres properly. Vegetables go straight into the batter without the flour dredge.
Serve over steamed rice with a drizzle of tentsuyu, or alongside soba noodles for a classic Japanese meal.
Pro Tips
- Keep oil temperature steady between frying batches; dropping too many pieces at once cools the oil and makes the batter soggy
- Peanut oil is best for its high smoke point and neutral flavor; sesame oil was the historical choice but smokes faster
- Slice vegetables thin and uniform so they cook evenly in the short frying time
- Skim floating batter bits from the oil between batches to prevent burning
Variations
- Try sweet potato, shiso leaves, or lotus root slices for a more traditional Japanese selection
- For a gluten-free version, substitute rice flour for the wheat flour in the batter
- Serve with a sprinkle of matcha salt instead of tentsuyu for a different flavor profile
Ingredients
Directions
Before you begin here a few essential tips to remember: youUll need a deep thick wall pan ( wok o.
k. ), filled with 1 inch of peanut oil preferred ( Never lard or shortening ),slice vegetables thin crowd, and have the temperature of the oil from 340 for vegetables or 360 degrees for fish.
Cold water in batter is a must to keep the flour from being sticky .
Do a trial try of frying so youUll know how long vegetables or fish need to cook.
Author did not mention poultry but I surmise it would be cooked as the fish is.
Vegetables and fish were the initial things cooked this way in the history of tempura due to their trade with the Portuguese and Dutch merchants.
Make the batter: Beat egg with water.
Mix in flour and whisk quickly. Set aside. Make the tempura dip: Boil the dashi no moto ( this is a dried soup stock from fish or poultry usually contained in tea bag type of packing )in the water for 2 or 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add all the remaining ingredients. Prepare the vegetables or fish but cutting into rings, strips, cubes etc. For fish, dredge in flour before dipping in batter. Vegetables are just dipped into the batter. Let excess batter drip off with either fish or vegetables. ( meanwhile you will have had the oil preheated in the pan to the right temperature for either fish or vegetables Drop into oil by hand or use a tablespoon for vegetable cubes. Take the vegetables or fish out of the oil when slightly browned. Serve the tempura with the Tentsuyu dip along with rice. Place rice in a bowl, top with tempura and a few tbs. of the tentsuyu dip. Or serve tempura over Japanese noodles ( soba ). Note all Japanese ingredients may be found readily in most supermarkets or gourmet grocers today. Also, there are other variations in frying tempura; this is one basic historic method. Prior to using peanut oil, sesame seed oil was used mainly when tempura first became popular in Japan, over 400 years ago.
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