Tempura (Crispy Fried Seafood and Vegetables)

Dipping sauce

• 250 ml Water
• 2 tsp Dashi powder
• 60 ml Soy sauce
• 40 ml Mirin
• 10 g Ginger root, peeled

Tempura

• 300 g Prawns, raw, peeled and deveined
• 1 medium Aubergine
• 1 medium Sweet potato
• 250 g Broccoli
• 120 g Plain flour
• 60 g Cornflour
• 1 Egg
• 900 ml Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Make the dipping sauce: warm the water in a small saucepan, whisk in the dashi powder, then stir in the soy sauce and mirin. Bring just to a gentle simmer, then take off the heat. Finely grate the ginger and stir it in, then set aside to cool.
2. Prepare the tempura ingredients: pat the prawns dry, then make 3 to 4 shallow slashes along the belly side so they stay straight when fried. Cut the aubergine into thin wedges and slice the sweet potato into thin rounds; cut the broccoli into small florets. Keep everything as dry as possible so the batter clings well.
3. Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot to a safe depth and heat to 170°C (340°F), using a thermometer to monitor. While the oil heats, set a sieve-strainer over a bowl for draining. Keep the heat steady so the tempura cooks quickly without browning too much.
4. Make the batter: in a mixing bowl, whisk the egg with 180 ml of the water until just combined. Add the plain flour and cornflour and whisk very briefly, leaving a few small lumps; overmixing makes the batter heavy. The batter should be loose enough to coat but not thick like pancake batter.
5. Fry in batches: dip the prawns and vegetables into the batter, let the excess drip off, then lower into the hot oil with tongs. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes for prawns and 3 to 4 minutes for vegetables, turning once, until pale golden and crisp. Lift out to the sieve-strainer to drain, then return the oil to temperature before the next batch.

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