Tempura

Source: http://www.recipesource.com/text./ethnic/asia/japanese/recipe94.txt

Serves: 4+

Time: 30 minutes

This is a great Japanese dish.

Tempura Ingredients (Tendane)

  • Seafood: white-fleshed fish, shrimp, squid, scallops 
  • Vegetables: Sweet white onion, carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini, green pepper, eggplant, okra, shiso leaves, shiitake, ginko nuts, etc.  Experiment to see what you like.

Batter (Koromo)

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour -- sifted
  • 2 eggs -- lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup ice water -- the colder, the better
  • 1 tablespoon sake (Japanese rice wine)

Dipping Sauce (Ten Tsuyu)

  • 2 cups bonito soup stock (Katsuo Dashi)
  • 1/2 cup mirin (sweet seasoning sake)
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
  • Grated daikon (Japanese radish)
  • Grated fresh ginger root

Peanut or Vegetable Oil for Deep-frying

Basic concepts:

  1. All the non-vegetable ingredients (tendane) should be around the same size after dressing (about 4 x 2 inches for fish and shrimp) so that they can all be deep-fried in about the same amount of time -- around 1 minute is ideal. The vegetables should be kept to about 1/4 inch thick to enable them also to cook in around 1 minute.
  2. Next the batter (koromo) -- this is what makes or breaks the tempura. Important things to keep in mind: - Timing is of the essence -- you should mix the batter when you begin to heat the deep-frying oil. The batter should be ready just when the oil has reached the ideal temperature for the ingredients you are going to deep-fry (more on this later), and used right away. - The batter should be kept as cold as possible. This will give you a light, crispy, non-greasy finish. - If you are making a lot of tempura, it is best not to scale the batter recipe up to make a large amount at once. Make more batches as you need them -- two batches of batter is usually enough for a family of four.
  3. About the oil -- any vegetable oil will do. Of course, the better the oil, the better the taste. Sesame oil gives the tempura a deep, rich aroma.
  4. Deep-frying. The oil should be at 350F for vegetables, and around 360F for the fish, shrimp, etc. Maintaining this is another one of the key points for achieving success. Also, the stuff in the deep-frying pan/pot should not exceed 60 percent of the surface area of the oil, so you can gauge the size you will need to use to work efficiently for the amount of tempura you will be making. Don't overcrowd.
  5. The dipping sauce (ten tsuyu) recipe has been included here for those who really want to go all out. For those who are not so inclined, you should be able to get a premixed, bottled version in an Asian market near you.

Preparing ingredients:

  • First the fish. White-fleshed fish makes the best tempura. Ideally, you would use smelts, or the like, that are about 4-6 inches in length. Clean, behead and butterfly the fish; or if you are using larger fillets, cut them down to deep-frying size.
  • Next the shrimp. Shell and devein, leaving the tail on. Cut off the tips of the tail, and press out any water left in them by scraping them with your knife. Finally, cut several shallow crosswise incisions along the stomach side to prevent the shrimp from curling up when deep-fried, and straighten them out as much as possible. If you have access to squid, it should be skinned, cleaned and cut into deep-frying size pieces. Also, use a sharp knife to cut a very shallow crosshatch on both sides to help the pieces hold the batter. Scallops, eel, etc., also make good tempura ingredients.
  • The vegetables should be washed, sliced and cut up into deep-frying size pieces, and pat dry so that the batter is not diluted. The Japanese like to use eggplant, pumpkin, shiitake, lotus root, sweet potato, onion, shiso leaves, etc. Experiment to see what's good for you.

Heat the oil:

  • Begin heating up the oil on medium heat. Be careful not to let it get too hot. You will need to adjust this later as you cook.
  • As the oil is heating... Make the batter:
    • In a bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs.
    • Add the 3/4 cup ice water and 1 Tbs sake (rice wine), and mix.
    • Sift in the flour (about 1 cup) a bit at a time and mix until just combined (a few lumps are okay).
    • Do not beat or whisk. Chopsticks or a similar stick-like implement work best.
    • IMPORTANT -- do not overmix.
    • To check the consistency, stick your chopsticks in and scoop up a bit of batter -- it should drip off in a fairly steady, string-like stream. Use immediately. If your kitchen is warm, you might want to keep the batter bowl on ice.

Deep-frying:

  • Just when your batter is done, the oil should be at the temperature you want.
  • Start with the vegetables (shojin age). If you're using a thermometer, the oil should be 350F. If not, drop a bit of batter into the oil; it should sink about half way down the depth of the oil and then turn back toward the surface. If it turns back too soon, the oil is too hot; if gets too close to the bottom, the oil is not hot enough. You'll just have to experiment to get the feel for this.
  • Dip the vegetables one at a time into the batter to coat in a single pass, pausing for a bit over the bowl to let any excess drip off. Slip the piece gently into the oil close to the side of the pan/pot. Repeat with the other pieces of vegetable.
  • IMPORTANT -- the pieces in the oil should not exceed 60 percent of the oil's surface area at any given time. Also make sure that each piece has enough "swimming" space of its own as it cooks.
  • Each piece should be done in about 1 minute. It should be light brown in color. When removing the done pieces, snatch them out of the oil from directly above and shake off excess oil back into the pan. Transfer to a rack. Replenish the pieces in the pan/pot as you go along, making sure the temperature of the oil remains in the ideal range. Don't let it get too hot.
  • During this process, you will probably find that there are a lot of bits of batter floating around loose in the oil. You should scoop these out as often as possible, since they will burn if left in and impart a burnt flavor to the oil.
  • Finally, the seafood. The operation is the same as for the vegetables, except that the temperature of the oil should be a bit higher. The pieces here, as well, should be done in about 1 minute.
  • Don't forget to keep scooping out the bits of stray batter from the oil.
  • The tempura should be eaten immediately. They quickly loose their crispness if left to sit. The ideal situation is to eat them as they are made.
  • Dip them into the dipping sauce (ten tsuyu) or have a bit of salt (or salt mixed with some curry powder or a spice of your choice) on the side to sprinkle on as you eat. Also good are a few slices of lemon to squirt on as you eat.

Dipping sauce:

  • If you are going to make your own dipping sauce (ten tsuyu), prepare it in advance.
  • In a saucepan, heat 2 cups bonito soup stock (katsuo dashi -- instant soup stock granules should be available in Asian stores).
  • When it comes to a boil, add 1/2 cup mirin (sweet seasoning sake) and 2 Tbs sake; boil long enough to evaporate the alcohol.
  • Add 1/2 cup soy sauce and turn off the heat (the soy sauce should not boil).
  • Cool a bit and ladle into small individual dipping bowls. T
  • he ten tsuyu should be accompanied by a bit of grated Japanese radish (daikon) and a small dab of grated ginger root on the side to allow each person to put in as much or as little as he or she wishes.
  • The tempura are dipped into this broth-like sauce as you eat.