National Tempura Day: A Celebration Of Juicy And Crunchy Japanese Delight

Tempura, a light and crispy batter used to deep-fry shrimp and vegetables, is one of Japan’s most beloved culinary treasures. Interestingly, this iconic dish has its very own day of celebration, namely, National Tempura Day, observed every year on 7th January.

On this National Tempura Day, let us savour the remarkable delicacy, one juicy and crunchy bite at a time, and honor the art of tempura that has captured the hearts and taste buds of many around the world.

Check out this easy-to-make tempura recipe

Ingredient

Shrimp And Vegetables---

• ½ lb shrimp peeled and deveined
• 2 c vegetables sliced evenly and prepared

Tempura Batter---

• ¾ c all-purpose flour
• ½ c potato starch
• 1 large egg
• ¼ c vodka chilled in the freezer
• ¾ c carbonated water chilled in the fridge

Tetsuya Dipping Sauce---

• 1 c water
• 2 g dashi mix
• ¼ c soy sauce
• ¼ c mirin

Directions

For Shrimp And Vegetables---

• Shrimp: Clean the shrimp under running water and remove the heads. Devein the shrimp. To straighten your shrimp, score very shallow (⅛ inch) cuts on the belly of the shrimp. (You can also use skewers to straighten the shrimp if you don’t want to score them). Straighten the shrimp on a plate over paper towels to dry the shrimp off.
  Prep vegetables by washing and drying them before dunking them in the batter.
• Kabocha: slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice the kabocha into ⅛ inch pieces.
  Root vegetables: cut into ⅛ even slices to make sure they cook properly.
• Eggplants: keep the top intact and make slices starting from the middle to the bottom of the vegetable. The eggplant should look like a fan.
• Zucchini: cut the tops off and cut into lengthwise strips with an ¼ inch width.

For Tempura Batter---

• In a heavy-bottomed pot, add about 2 inches of oil from the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil to 350 °F degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, add the flour and half of potato starch and mix thoroughly. Set aside the other half of the potato starch to coat your ingredients right before dipping into the batter.
• In another bowl, add the egg and mix in the cold vodka. Then add the carbonated water.
• Carefully, add the wet batter into the mixing bowl and use the chopsticks to mix the batter in swift movements. Try to lift the bowl and move the bowl in round movements while stirring with the chopsticks. Make sure to not overmix the batter or your tempura will end up chewy. You should have some lumps in your batter. The mixing process should take no longer than one minute.
• In a separate bowl, add ¼ cup of potato starch in a shallow bowl. Cover the shrimp & vegetables in a light layer of potato starch.
• Frying shrimp: Holding the shrimp tail, dunk the shrimp into the batter and cover thoroughly. Carefully lower the battered shrimp into the oil. To add extra crispy tendrils of tempura, dip your hand back into the batter and drip small drops of batter onto the frying shrimp.
• Turn the shrimp after about one to two minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp from the oil and place them over paper towels on a cooling rack.
• Frying vegetables: Carefully lower the battered vegetables into the oil. The vegetables cook fairly quickly so make sure to watch these carefully. Root vegetables take about three minutes and other vegetables take about one to two minutes depending on their thickness. Turn the vegetables every so often so they cook properly. Remove the cooked vegetables (it should have a pale blonde color) from the oil and place them over paper towels on a cooling rack.

For Tetsuya Dipping Sauce---

• In a small saucepot, add the water over medium-low heat.
• Add the dashi mix, soy sauce, and mirin.
• Heat until it boils for one minute and then remove from heat.
• Serve in a small sauce dish.

(Recipe Credit: hungryhuy.com)

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