Tempura
Japan's most refined deep-fried dish — fresh prawns, fish and seasonal vegetables coated in a barely-mixed, ice-cold, whisper-thin batter and fried in clean oil at exactly the right temperature until the coating is lacy, ethereally light and crispy, not greasy. Served with tentsuyu dipping sauce and grated daikon.
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Hard
Prep 20 min · Cook 30 min
Ingredients
Method
Tentsuyu: simmer dashi with mirin and soy sauce for 2 minutes. Cool. Serve warm with grated daikon on the side.
About 5 min
Prepare all ingredients and pat completely dry — any moisture causes dangerous splattering in the oil and makes the batter steam instead of fry.
About 11 min
Batter: mix cold egg yolk with iced cold water. Add ALL the flour at once. Stir with chopsticks FOUR or FIVE times only. The batter must be lumpy with visible dry flour pockets — this is correct. Overmixing develops gluten and makes the batter heavy and doughy.
About 11 min
Heat oil to 170°C for vegetables, 180°C for prawns. Maintain this temperature precisely — too low gives greasy tempura; too high burns the batter before the inside cooks.
About 11 min
Dip each item into the batter, letting excess drip off. Gently lower into the oil. Fry until the batter is just set and very lightly golden (90 seconds for vegetables, 2 minutes for prawns). Remove with a wire skimmer. Rest on a rack, not paper — paper makes the bottom soggy.
About 11 min
Serve immediately — tempura must be eaten within 2 minutes of frying. Dip in tentsuyu with a small mound of daikon mixed in.
About 3 min
Nutrition per serving (estimate)
- Calories
- 420
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 780 mg
Contains: gluten, eggs, soy, shellfish, sesame
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Recipe by Boon Tools.