Japanese
Tempura
Shrimp and vegetables fried in cold, barely mixed batter for a pale, delicate shell and sweet tender interior.
4 servings · 30 minutes prep · 20 minutes cook
Ingredients
Tentsuyu
- 1 cup dashi
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce
Tempura
- 12 large shrimp, peeled with tails on and deveined
- 8 slices kabocha squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 8 wedges
- 8 shiso leaves
- 1/2 cup cake flour, for dusting
- 7 cups avocado oil, for frying
Batter
- 1 large egg, ice cold
- 1 3/4 cups ice water
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour, chilled
Directions
Make the Tentsuyu
- Simmer the dashi, mirin, and Japanese soy sauce for 2 minutes. Keep warm.
Prepare the Ingredients and Oil
- Make three shallow cuts across the belly of each shrimp, then gently press straight so the shrimp will not curl. Pat the shrimp, kabocha squash, Japanese eggplant, and shiso leaves very dry.
- Heat the avocado oil in a heavy pot to 335°F for vegetables or 350°F for shrimp, with about 2 1/2 inches of oil depth.
- Lightly dust the shrimp, kabocha, eggplant, and shiso leaves with the cake flour, shaking off excess.
Mix the Batter and Fry
- Beat the egg lightly with the water. Add the cake flour all at once and stir only 8-10 times; the batter should stay lumpy.
- Dip a few pieces at a time into the batter and fry without crowding until pale, crisp, and cooked through, about 1 minute for shiso leaves, 2-3 minutes for shrimp and eggplant, and 3-4 minutes for kabocha.
- Drain briefly on a rack, skim the oil between batches, and return the oil to the target temperature before each batch.
Serve Immediately
- Serve immediately with the warm tentsuyu.
