Tempura (Shrimp and Vegetables)

Ingredients

• Shrimp (black tiger or similar, shell-on) 6
• Sweet potato 1/3 (100 g)
• Eggplant 1
• Kabocha squash 1/8 (120 g)
• Shiitake mushrooms 4
• Shiso leaves 6
• [Batter] Cake flour 100 g
• [Batter] Egg 1
• [Batter] Ice-cold water 150 ml
• Cake flour for dusting 2 Tbsp
• Frying oil as needed (at least 4 cm deep)
• [Tentsuyu dipping sauce] Dashi 200 ml
• [Tentsuyu dipping sauce] Soy sauce 50 ml
• [Tentsuyu dipping sauce] Mirin 50 ml
• Grated daikon 100 g
• Grated ginger 1 tsp
• Salt (optional) a pinch

Steps

1. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Make a shallow cut along the back and remove the vein. Snip the tip of the tail on a slant and squeeze out moisture with the knife tip. Score the belly in 3–4 shallow cuts and press with your finger to sever the tendon so they fry straight.
2. Slice the sweet potato (skin on) into 7 mm rounds and soak in water. Seed the kabocha and cut into 7 mm wedges; halve the eggplant lengthwise and score the skin in fine diagonal cuts; trim shiitake stems. Pat vegetables and shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels.
3. Bring the tentsuyu ingredients to a brief boil in a small pan and keep warm. Gently squeeze excess liquid from the grated daikon.
4. Begin heating the oil to 170°C. In a bowl whisk egg and cold water, sift in the flour, and mix roughly with chopsticks as if pressing the flour in. Stop while a few lumps remain—that is the key.
5. Fry vegetables first. Lightly dust sweet potato and kabocha, dip in batter, and fry at 170°C for 3–4 minutes until a skewer slides through. Eggplant, shiitake, and shiso (batter one side only) need only 1–2 minutes.
6. Raise the oil to 180°C. Dust the shrimp, dip in batter, and lower them in gently by the tail. Fry 1½–2 minutes until the coating is crisp and the bubbles shrink, then lift out.
7. Stand the fried pieces on a rack to drain. Line a plate with paper, arrange the tempura, and serve tentsuyu with grated daikon and ginger. Salt for dipping is also nice.

Origin and history

Tempura is seafood or vegetables coated in a flour-egg-water batter and deep-fried—alongside sushi and soba, a hallmark of Edo food culture.

Deep-frying is said to have arrived around the 16th century through contact with the Portuguese and other Nanban visitors; the name is widely traced to Portuguese.

In the Edo period, small fish and shrimp from Edo Bay were skewered, fried, and sold from street stalls as casual standing snacks for commoners. Fear of fire discouraged indoor frying, so outdoor stalls were the main stage.

Later it entered fine restaurants and was refined into today's light, thin batter that highlights the ingredient. At home it remains a festive way to fry seasonal vegetables.