1 koromo ( batter )
1 egg beaten
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp dry white wine
1 cup flour
1 tentsuyu(dipping sauce)
1 tbsp dashi no moto( fish stock)
1 cup water
2 tbsp mirin( sweet rice wine )
1 or 1 tbs sugar
2 tbsp sake ( or dry white wine )
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 ginger root to taste
1 vegetables & fish: ex:
1 carrots, onions, mushrooms
1 peppers, zucchini, snow pea,
1 squash, eggplant etc. etc.
1 okra
1 shrimps, crab, scallops,
1 squid, cod. etc. etc.
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 enough
for even cooking, fry in small batches and never 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 tbs 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.
Serves: 1
Recipe Categories: Appetizer; Japanese
Buy Cutlery Online?
Channel 4