Light and Crispy Tempura with Shrimp and Assorted Vegetables
- 3 scant cups all-purpose flour, plus about a cup extra for dusting vegetables and shrimp
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups ice water
- 1 jumbo or extra-large egg yolk
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- Vegetables for tempura (see Notes)
- Kosher salt
- Shrimp for tempura (see Notes)
- Before your guests arrive, mix together the 3 scant cups of flour, potato starch, and baking soda.
- Divide the mixture evenly between two large mixing bowls using a measuring cup (you should have about 2 cups of mixture in each bowl).
- Place the extra dusting flour on a plate.
- Place the ice water in a clear pitcher or large Pyrex measuring cup, and, using a fork, beat in the egg yolk until the yolk is well incorporated.
- Keep the water-yolk mixture refrigerated at all times (except when youre using it).
- At cooking time, place the vegetable oil, several inches deep, in one or two wide cooking vessels (two woks would be ideal) over medium-high heat.
- Heat the oil to 335F.
- Pour 2 cups of the water-yolk mixture into one of the mixing bowls containing the flour-potato starch mixture.
- Stirnot too vigorouslywith chopsticks, just mixing the liquids and solids together, about 30 seconds.
- The finished tempura batter should be lumpy and approximately the consistency of heavy cream.
- If you need to thin it, do so with a little tap water.
- (Reserve the other bowl of flour-potato starch mixture for later, and return the water-yolk mixture to the refrigerator.)
- When the oil is at 335F, pick up 1 vegetable piece with chopsticks, dust it lightly with flour, dip it in the tempura batter briefly, then add the vegetable piece to the hot oil.
- Make sure it doesnt stick to the bottom or sides.
- Perform the batter-drizzle technique: pick up a little extra batter with the tips of your chopsticks, and drizzle it over the vegetable in the oil.
- Repeat one or two more times, drizzling evenly over the vegetable and occasionally letting the batter drip off into the hot oil; this will create a lacy edge on the finished piece of tempura.
- Turn the vegetable over after a minute or so; finish cooking for 1 minute on the other side.
- After a total of about 2 minutes of cooking time, the piece should be cooked on the inside, light-yellow on the outside, and crispy.
- Drain on paper towels, salt, and serve.
- Make sure to scoop up any loose bits of batter from the oil with a spider or slotted spoon.
- Keep frying vegetable pieces until you have run out of vegetables and/or batter.
- Its time to switch to shrimp tempura!
- Remove the water-yolk mixture from the refrigerator, and pour 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons of it into the second bowl of the flour-potato starch mixture.
- Stirnot too vigorouslywith chopsticks, just mixing the liquids and solids together, about 30 seconds.
- The finished tempura batter should be lumpy, and approximately the consistency of thin cream.
- If you need to thin it, do so with a little tap water.
- Scoop up loose batter bits from the oil and discard.
- Turn up the heat, and bring the oil to 350F.
- When the oil is ready, pick up a shrimp with chopsticks, dust it lightly with flour, dip it in the tempura batter briefly, then add the shrimp to the hot oil.
- Keeping it submerged with your chopsticks, quickly drag it a few inches through the hot oil two or three times.
- Release it; make sure it doesnt stick to the bottom or sides.
- Perform the batter-drizzle technique (see step 5).
- Do not turn the shrimp.
- After a total of about 2 minutes cooking time, the shrimp should be cooked on the inside, light-yellow on the outside, and crispy.
- Drain on paper towels, salt, and serve.
- Make sure to scoop up loose bits of batter from the oil with a spider or slotted spoon.
- As with the vegetable pieces, you can fry several shrimp at the same time once you get into the rhythm.
- Try to keep the oil at an even 350F.
flour, potato starch, baking soda, water, jumbo, vegetable oil, vegetables, kosher salt, shrimp
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/light-and-crispy-tempura-with-shrimp-and-assorted-vegetables (may not work)