Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dashi no moto
- 1 cup of water, boiled for two to three minutes
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons sake or dry white wine
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- ginger root to taste, freshly grated optional)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup COLD water
- 1 cup flour
- Frying Items: Onions, Green pepper, Shiso leaves, Eggplant, Broccoli, Green onions (especially if making kakiage--mixed vegetable tempura), Zucchini, Mushrooms, Green beans, Asparagus, Okra, Snow pea pods, Sole, Cod, Shrimp, Scallops, Crab, Squid, etc.
Directions
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Make the dipping sauce, tentsuyu, by boiling 1 cup of water and 1 tablespon dashi no moto for 2-3 minutes.
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Turn off the heat and add the mirin, sake, soy sauce and ginger root.
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Beat the egg and mix with water. Using cold water (about 40F) is a must. This keeps the batter from becoming sticky. Sticky batter results in oily tempura.
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Add flour and whisk quickly.
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Heat the oil to 340F or 360F. Dip the vegetables or fish in the batter and place them in the oil. If it is difficult to handle the vegetable chunks, you may use a tablespoon to drop them in. Do not fry too much at a time, in order to maintain the temperature.
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Take the tempura out of the oil just when the batter gets SLIGHTLY brown.
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Dredge fish in flour before dipping in batter.
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Vegetables usually take less than two to three minutes. Remember: the thinner the vegetable, the faster it cooks. For fish, the time to pull it out is when the batter turns very slightly brown. It is good idea to do trial frying in the beginning. Taste it and decide how long it will have to be fried. Once you get the timing right, the rest is simple.