Tempura

[cristina]

I'm going to try doing tempura either tomorrow or Saturday. I have shrimp as well as mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus and potato. (The potato was my daughter's idea; I'm not sure I'll be fond of that one.)

By the way, I found avocado oil at my market yesterday. It actually has a wonderfully light taste and I think it will be delicious over greens, especially with citrus. The label adds that it works well as a marinade for pork.

[hwinpp]

Be careful with the potatoe. You'll have to slice it quite thin so that the batter doesn't burn before the potatoe is done.

You can also use beans, carrots and aubergines.

[lagatta]

How about sweet potato? I'd think that would be successful and better suit the flavour profile.

Regular potatoes are fine fried just as is.

[cristina]

I know the potato will need to be quite thin. I'm thinking something like matchsticks?

Personally, I would have preferred the sweet potato but my daughter voted for the white potato. And since I apparently only cook food that she hates, I thought I would let her have her way on this one.

[Deleted]

In tempura vegetable mixes, I have had sweet potato more than once but never normal potato, since people eat fried potatoes all the time, without batter on them. Personally, I don't like sweet potatoes, but in tempura they were just about edible, because I could concentrate on the crispy batter and ignore the contents more easily.

[fumobici]

Deep frying can make marginally palatable ingredients quite acceptable

[Deleted]

So, none of us ever followed through?

[spindrift]

Not yet!

I've never been served any kind of potato tempura.

[rikita]

so what vegetables would go well, can someone summarize? and you said it can be served cold, right? reading this thread made me think maybe i should prepare some for my birthday (so far i had only planned on some vegetable curry, and some cake, and of course the guests bringing some food too, so it will be a kind of buffet) - but since we go climbing during the day i'd have to prepare it the day before. is that still okay, or should it be fresh?

[hwinpp]

Any vegetable, I think.
I've seen carrot, bitter gourd, bell peppers, water chestnut, sweet potatoe, onion rings.

I would serve it right after deep frying and draining for some time. You have to drain the excess oil but you won't get rid of it completely and I don't like cold oily vegetables.

[rikita]

hm ok then it might not be such a good idea after all because i don't want to spend time cooking while i have guests... and i have no time to do it just before they come...

[fumobici]

Tempura is cooked and brought to the table straight away, even five minutes on it's probably too late.

[hwinpp]

Rik, you could do it at the table if you've got a fondue set.

Just get loads of different dips if you want more than just soy sauce.

[spindrift]

It's good to drain tempura on a grill or cake rack.

[gringalais]

Avocado oil is pretty common here, and very tasty.

A new sushi place opened up by my house and they have all sorts of rolls dipped in tempura and or panko, fried just enough so the breading cooks. They are really good.

[Deleted]

That reminds me to go looking for the elusive panko in Paris.

[rikita]

don't have a fondue set.

was at a sushi place today, they had tempura too, but it was very expensive so i had sushi instead.

btw, how big are the pieces normally?

[mockchoc]

kerouac, I still owe you for the fridge magnet. I can send you some panko if you want in the post.

I prefer to not drag it to Paris with me.

Please PM me an address if you would like me to send it.

[spindrift]

Why hasn't anyone had a go at making tempura?

Oh, I've just noticed the reference to Panko which is definitely never used when making tempura the Japanese way

[Deleted]

I think we're all scared of tempura.

I wasn't saying that Panko should be used for tempura, just that it made me think of it!

[spindrift]

that's all right then, you can do that!

Ahem .....but why would panko make you think of tempura

[Deleted]

Any powdery, flaky or grainy stuff that is used for frying things makes me think of tempura.

[spindrift]

Yes, of course.

I've decided right this minute to invite my Japanese friends to dinner and make tempura for them....that means I'll be helped along and then I can post about it...

I do know, however, that the vegetables have to be cut in a Japanesey way and that's not easy. For instance, if you're slicing a carrot you have to slice, then turn it a quarter, then slice then turn another quarter.....it's very involved.

[bixaorellana]

Spindrift practice that rolling cut! I believe it's originally a Chinese way of cutting for stir-fries, designed to expose the maximum amount of the food's surface to the heat. Even as I type, I have a very plain stir-fry (zucchini & carrots, seasoned w/rosemary & garlic) chilled in the refrigerator. It's perfect for stir-frying or steaming, and adaptable to any cuisine. Once you get used to doing it, it's not involved at all.

[spindrift]

Today, by chance, I was suddenly invited over my Japanese friends' house for lunch. I chuckled when I entered the kitchen - she was making tempura. I had a good stir of the batter mixture to feel the texture. It seemed very thick to me. She had used self-raising flour and mixed it with water. It look quite bubbly. It was similar to very thick double cream.

She had a frying pan with raised sides on the hob, into which she poured a lot of sunflower oil. She told me that olive oil would be too 'heavy'. She heated it until it was smoking and kept the heat up as she cooked. I'm sure we need plain LONG wooden chopsticks for this dish. Not only can the food be picked up and dipped in the batter with ease, but she also uses the chopsticks to prod the food to see how it's cooking and when it's ready.

It looks easy to me

Bixa - your veggies look lovely and I wish I could eat them right now! I forgot that for tempura she cuts all the vegetables long-wise. We also ate tempurad haddock. Yumm.

Forgot to say that we need a thin sauce in tiny bowls for each person alongside the main plate. Not sure how the sauce is made but I'll find out. She had grated mouli into it. The idea is to pick up a whole piece of tempura with chopsticks and dip it into the bowl of sauce, then bite a chunk off. I think she only dipped each piece once into the bowl.

[Deleted]

I am determined to finally do this some day.

[rikita]

i plan to all the time, but then i am always too lazy.

[Deleted]

And I'm sure it makes a mess in the kitchen.

[spindrift]

In my opinion there's a real possibility of the oil in the frying pan catching alight...then what?