Shrimp & Broccoli Tempura
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 cup of sifted all purpose or tempura flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup of ice cold water
- 6 cup oil for frying (vegetable or peanut or combo)
- 12 shrimp ~ 1/2 lb. (cleaned and deveined with tail intact) Get to know your seafood monger and try to buy wild-caught shrimp when possible
- Head of broccoli, cut into florets, blanched and cooled
Directions
Tempura, a long time staple of Japanese cuisine, was actually brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th C. Tempura comes from the latin word for time which referred to the lenten fasting time when one abstained from eating meat. The first tempura was a fried green bean, but over time the Japanese lightened the batter and expanded into frying almost anything.
- Heat oil in fryer to 350 degrees
- When oil is ready, mix the batter ingredients, being careful not to over stir- some folks recommend using chopsticks to minimize air in batter
- When batter is ready, dip shrimp into batter, lightly coat, and place into fryer basket
- Drop basket into hot oil for ~ 2 minutes and check for doneness
- Repeat process for broccoli and cook to desired tenderness, about 2 minutes
- Enjoy with dashi or soy dipping sauce
