Tempura

Step 1

Add dashi stock and mirin to a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.

Step 2

Add soy sauce and as soon as it starts boiling, turn the heat off and put aside until required.

Step 3

Eggplant: Discard the head of the eggplant, then cut it lengthwise in half. Halve each piece again by cutting perpendicularly to the first cut. Place them skin-side up on a cutting board and slice each piece into lengths of 5mm (¼”) width, keeping the narrow end of the eggplant piece intact for about 1.5cm (½”), so that it will become like a fan.

Step 4

Enoki mushrooms: Divide the enoki mushrooms into 4 bunches. Take a strip of yaki nori and wrap it around the root end of a bunch to keep the stems together. Wet the end of the yaki nori strip to glue it.

Step 5

Carrots: Julienne the carrots into matchsticks of 5cm (2”) length.

Step 6

Prawns (shrimps): Remove the head, peel and devein prawns (Note 8), leaving on the last segment and the tail. Make 3 slits at equal intervals on the underside of each prawn to stop them from curling when cooked.

Step 7

Add the egg and cold water to a bowl or measuring cup, and mix well until there is no cluster of egg white.

Step 8

Add two thirds each of the egg mixture and the flour to a separate bowl, and gently mix by drawing the number 8 several times, leaving powdery lumps of flour. Keep the remaining egg mixture and flour in the fridge, as they will be added later (Note 9).

Step 9

Fill a deep frypan or pot with oil up to a minimum depth of 3cm (1¼”) and heat the oil to 170C (335F). Drop a tiny amount of batter onto the surface, and if it hardly touches the bottom and returns to the surface, it is at the right temperature.

Step 10

Cook the same ingredients together unless you are serving one person at a time. The order can vary, but prawns should be cooked last. Cook in batches but do not cover more than 30-40% of the surface area of the oil with the tempura. Ingredients should be patted dry before dipping in the batter.

Step 11

Eggplants – dip in the batter to coat the entire eggplant piece, then drop it gently into the oil one by one. Cook for about 45-60 seconds until the eggplant tempura comes to the surface and you can see large bubbles around it. Flip it over and cook for a further 45 seconds or so until the eggplant becomes light when lifted and very lightly browned, then transfer to a wire rack.

Step 12

Enoki mushrooms – hold at the root with a yaki nori strip and dip the enoki in the batter, without letting go so that the yaki nori strip is not coated. Drop it gently into the oil and cook for 10-20 seconds. Flip it over and cook for few seconds. Transfer to a wire rack.

Step 13

Shiso leaves – hold the end of the stem and dip only the back side of the leaf into the batter, then drop the whole leaf into the oil, making sure that the battered side is facing the bottom of the pan. Cook for 5-10 seconds and transfer to a wire rack.

Step 14

Carrots – add all the carrot sticks to the batter. Take about a quarter of them and place on a flat wooden spatula, then slide them into the oil while holding them together. Cook for about 60 seconds until the carrot tempura comes up to the surface and you can see large bubbles around it. Flip it over and cook for a further 45-60 seconds, then transfer to a wire rack.

Step 15

Add remaining egg mixture and flour to the batter and gently mix just like the first time. Try not to mix with the batter left at the bottom of the bowl too much as they are now glutinous.

Step 16

Increase the temperature of the oil to 180C (350F). At this temperature, when you drop a tiny amount of batter it will surface straight away.

Step 17

Hold a prawn by the tail and dip it into the batter, leaving the tail uncoated. Drop it gently into the oil and cook for about 60 seconds, until it comes to the surface and you can see large bubbles around it. Flip it over and cook for a further 45-60 seconds, then transfer to a wire rack.

Step 18

Place one piece each of eggplant, enoki mushroom and carrot tempura onto the plate. Place three prawns tail-side up, then a shiso tempura. Repeat for the other three servings.

Step 19

Take a quarter of daikon per serving and gently squeeze out any water, then place it to the side of the tempura. Add a quarter of the ginger on top of the daikon.

Step 20

Serve immediately with dipping sauce in a small bowl.