| |
The "tempura" recipe below by no means encompasses all the ingredients that may be used. In addition to the ones listed below, substitutions or additions might include ¼-inch-thick slices of fish fillets; ¼-inch-wide strips of carrot; blanched, quartered bamboo shoot; blanched string beans; ¼-inch-wide strips of lotus root; skewered sections of scallions; or small asparagus stalks.
|
|
What You Need:
(To Serve: 6)
|
|
|
1 small eggplant (about ½ pound)
18 canned ginnan (ginkgo nuts), drained
1 pound raw shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), shelled and deveined
12 snow peas, fresh or frozen and defrosted
6 white mushrooms cut in half
1 medium-sized sweet potato (about ½ pound) peeled and sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
Vegetable oil
½ cup flour
BATTER (TO MAKE ABOUT 3 CUPS)
1 egg yolk
2 cups ice-cold water
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 2/3 cups flour
DIPPING SAUCE
1½ cups soba tsuyu or ¼ cup ajishio
|
|
Translate this recipe:
|
|
|
|
|
|
| How To Cook: |
|
|
|
PREPARE AHEAD:
|
1. Peel the eggplant, but leave occasional ½-inch-wide strips of purple skin to add color to the finished dish. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and then cut into ¼-inch-thickslices. Wash in cold water, pat thoroughly dry with paper towels, and set aside.
|
2. Skewer 3 ginkgo nuts on each of 6 toothpicks.
|
3. Dip the shrimp in the flour, and vigorously shake off the excess.
|
4. To prepare the batter, combine 1egg yolk with 2 cups of ice-cold water and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and mix well with a wooden spoon.
|
5. The batter should be somewhat thin and watery, and run easily off the spoon. If it is too thick, thin it with drops of cold water.
|
6. Ideally, the batter should be used shortly after being made, but it may wait if necessary for no longer than 10 minutes.
|
|
TO COOK:
|
1. Preheat the oven to 250°. Since tempura must be served hot, the most practical way to cook tempura is to divide the ingredients into individual portions, placing them on separate sheets of wax paper so that a complete serving-composed of 3 shrimp, 2 snow peas, 2 mushroom halves, 3 ginkgo nuts, or slice of sweet potato-can be fried at a time and kept warm in the oven while the remaining portions are being fried.
|
2. Heat the oil as described in the introduction above, until it registers 375° on a deep-fat thermometer.
|
3. Dip one piece of food at a time into the batter, twirling it around to coat it, and then drop it into the pan. Fry only 6 or 8 pieces of food at a time. Turn the pieces with chopsticks or tongs after one minute, and fry another minute, or until they are a light gold.
|
4. Drain on paper towels, arrange a serving of food on an individual plate or in a basket and keep warm in the oven for no longer than 5 minutes. Skim the oil, check the temperature of the oil, and fry the remaining portions.
|
|
TO SERVE:
|
1. Each serving of tempura should be accompanied by a small dish of one of the tempura dipping sauces.
|
2. Although this recipe will serve 6 as a main course, smaller amounts of tempura are often served as part of a 5-course Japanese dinner or as a first course.
|
|
|
|
|
