Tempura
Ingredients
- oil (for frying)
- 2/3 c water
- 160 g ice
- 2/3 lb vegetables (assorted: zucchini, eggplant, winter squash or sweet potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, onions)
- 75 g meat (seafood or chicken: firm white fish, like cod or haddock, cut into chunks; or 6 to 8 large shrimp, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise; or chicken tenders, cut into thin strips)
- Soy Dipping Sauce and Marinade (or lemon wedges, to serve)
- 63 g Flour (Plain)
- 1 egg yolk
- Flour (Plain) (as needed for dredging)
Method
Put at least 2" of oil in a deep pan on the stove over medium-high heat; bring to 350F. Combine water and ice; let sit. While the oil is heating, prepare the vegetables, the meat, and the sauce.
Measure 2/3 cup water from the ice water. Beat lightly with 63g of the flour and the egg yolk; the batter should be lumpy and quite thin.
One piece at a time, dredge the vegetables and shrimp in the remaining flour, then dip in the batter. Fry each piece until golden, turning once if necessary, less than 5 minutes total. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, with the dipping sauce or lemon wedges.
Notes
Notes from source: Where do you draw the line between appetizer and "real" dishes? I don't know, but tempura works either way. If you're serving only a couple of people, it's easy to deep-fry enough food. It's when you have a crowd that it gets difficult. But if you want to deep-fry a few tidbits of fish, shrimp, chicken, and/or vegetables for a number of people, tempura is among the lightest and easiest of the batter-fried foods. Serve immediately; like many fried foods, it's best eaten standing up, around the stove. But it will hold in a low oven for a few minutes.
SJ Note 13 May 2011: Very tasty! We just did fish this time (had something else with vegetables already in the meal). Definitely a keeper!