mixed tempura

tempura dipping sauce:
1 cup water
1/4 cup mirin
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. dashi
grated daikon

makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce.

in a medium sauce pan add in the water and the dashi. bring to a boil, and simmer for 3 mins. remove from heat. then add in the mirin and soy sauce. cool down to room temperature, and place in the refrigerator to chill. i usually make this the night before. when serving add in 1 1/2 tbsp. of grated daikon to the top of the sauce.

tempura batter:
2 egg yokes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cold pellegrino water

makes enough batter for about 30-40 pieces depending on what you are frying.

in a medium bowl beat the egg yokes. then add in your pellegrino and mix together. sift the flour into a separate medium size bowl. slowly add the egg water mix into the flour and stir together. the batter should have lumps in it as you don't want to over mix your batter. place in the refrigerator for 30 mins.

tempura ingredients:
shiitake mushrooms
eggplant
japalenos
prosciutto
squash blossoms
mozzarella di bufala
anchovies
shiso leaves
carrots
onions
corn off of the cob
canola oil for deep frying
tempura dipping sauce
tempura batter



prep the veggies buy slicing the eggplant lengthwise about 1/4" thick. clean the top of the shiitakes with a damp paper towel, and cut the stems off. cut the japalenos in half and remove the seeds. stuff each half of the japaleno with mozzarella and wrap with prosciutto. remove the stamens from the squash blossoms, and place 1 anchovy in the bottom of the flower and place tsp. scoop of mozzarella in the blossom over top of the anchovy. twist the top of the blossom to hold in the filling. rinse off the shiso leaves and set all ingredients aside. julian your carrots and onions. (this will be the last thing to fry). you want to add the carrots, onions, and corn into the tempura batter. mix all together, and place spoon fulls of the carrot, onion, and corn mixture into the oil to fry.

in a medium to large size pan heat up your canola oil on medium high heat. remove the batter from the refrigerator. when the oil is shimmering and about 350 degrees drench your veggies in the batter and then into the oil. fry for about 5-6 mins. or until they look golden brown. after frying place on a plate with a paper town to drain excess oil. then plate on a serving dish along side with your tempura dipping sauce.

enjoy :)

justin