Tempura

Ingredients

• 2 cups water – for dashi
• 1 piece kombu – about 4-inch piece
• 0.5 ounces katsuobushi – flakes
• 0.25 cup mirin
• 0.25 cup soy sauce
• 12 each large shrimp – peeled and deveined, tails left on
• 8 ounces sweet potato – peeled, sliced 0.25-inch thick
• 8 ounces kabocha squash – sliced 0.25-inch thick, seeds removed
• 1 each Japanese eggplant – sliced 0.25-inch thick
• 8 each shiitake mushrooms – stems trimmed
• 8 each shiso leaves – patted dry
• 4 ounces green bean – trimmed
• 1.5 cups cake flour – divided; reserve 0.5 cup for dredging
• 1 cup ice-cold water – for batter
• 1 each large egg – lightly beaten
• 6 cups neutral oil
• 0.5 cup toasted sesame oil
• daikon radish – grated (for serving)
• ginger – grated (for serving)
• fine sea salt – for serving

Instructions

1. Combine kombu with water in a small saucepan and heat over medium until tiny bubbles form around the edges; just before boiling, remove it. Add katsuobushi, simmer 1 minute, turn off the heat, steep 5 minutes, then strain to make a clear dashi.
2. In another small saucepan, bring 1 cup of the hot dashi to a gentle simmer with mirin and soy sauce for 2 minutes; keep warm off heat for dipping sauce.
3. Peel and devein large shrimp, leaving tails on; pat dry, make 3–4 shallow slits on the belly side to straighten, and blot the tail to remove moisture.
4. Prepare the sweet potato, kabocha squash, Japanese eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, shiso leaves, and green beans as listed; keep everything very dry.
5. Pour neutral oil and toasted sesame oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat to 340°F for vegetables and 350–360°F for shrimp; monitor with a thermometer.
6. Measure 1.5 cups cake flour; place about 0.5 cup in a shallow dish for dredging and set the remaining flour aside for the batter.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk ice-cold water with large egg just to combine. Sprinkle in the reserved flour and stir 10–12 times with chopsticks until barely mixed; leave small lumps and do not overmix.
8. Lightly dust the vegetables in the dredging flour, shake off excess, dip a few pieces into the batter, and fry at 340°F until crisp and pale golden, 1–2 minutes for tender leaves and beans and 2–3 minutes for roots and thicker slices; drain on a rack and skim stray crumbs from the oil between batches.
9. Dust the shrimp lightly in the dredging flour, dip in the batter, and fry at 350–360°F until just opaque with crisp ridges, 1.5–2 minutes; drain on the rack.
10. Serve immediately with the warm dipping sauce, grated daikon radish and fresh ginger, or fine sea salt.