Tempura

Every once in awhile I go through a phase where all I crave is deep fried foods. To satisfy my latest craving I decided to make tempura. Tempura is a classic Japanese deep fried batter dish consisting mostly of vegetables and seafood. It can be found in just about any Japanese restaurant in the States and abroad. I first tried tempura when I was in Bangkok at a Thai friend’s house who was taking Japanese with me. The most ubiquitous tempura is shrimp and various vegetables, though you may also use just about type of seafood. The thing I love most about tempura is that the batter is lighter than most deep fried dishes found here in the States. Since it’s so light I can pretend that it’s not THAT bad for me.



Don't be scared to try at home it may be a little messy but, it's worth it. I cheat and use a pre-mixed box of tempura flour you can find in your Asian section of the supermarket(I found mine at Supertarget). Make sure your water is ice cold and don't overmix the batter. Keep the vegetables thin or bite-sized and peel and devein the shrimp; I left the tail on for presentation but you can peel the whole if you like. The trick to keeping your shrimp from curling up, if it matters to you, is to make small cuts at the bottom of the shrimp and press down so that the shrimp is flat.



I fried my tempura in a wok, you could use a deep fryer if you like. The ingredients I chose, shrimp, sweet potato, Japanese eggplant, and onion, didn't need long frying times. Most tempura will take between 2-4 minutes. Remember you are not looking for a golden color like most batter fried foods.



I drained my tempura on paper towels prior to platting. Serve with a bowl of rice and some tentsuyu (tempura sauce made from mirin, soy sauce, and dashi) makes this a very delicious meal. Or just sprinkle it with a little bit of sea salt and eat like popcorn. Yum!

Enjoy.

**Pardon the blurriness of the photos I must have been having a blurry day!**