Recipe: Tempura

Tempura has always been a mystery and it took a long time to even figure out what was giving restaurant style versions such a nice light crunch which stayed that way for a while. There is no secret to tempura ... there are however, secrets to tempura. The secrets are batter consistency, batter and oil temperature, and the type of flour used to make the batter.

Tempura

Inredients:

Rice Flour or Kudzu starch
Tempura batter mix
1 egg yolk
Very very very cold water
Big pinch of salt
Seafood or vegetables that have been coated with flour

Combine rice flour and tempura batter mix in equal proportion. Rice flour is used for lightness while the tempura batter mix is used for structure. This is because tempura batter mix is usually made with a heavy flour like regular flour combined with baking soda. Using it alone will result in a tougher and thicker tempura coating. Add the egg yolk and salt. Heat oil in a deep pot to 360 degrees F. Make sure that this temperature is reached first! Add extremely cold water to the flour and egg mix and stir lightly with chopsticks. The batter should have the consistency of skim milk while also having lumps of flour. Dip the seafod and/or vegetables and fry until golden brown. Done!