INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

A long time ago (about 400+ years back), when Japan was trading with
Portuguese and Dutch merchants, tempura was introduced to the country
as the style in which these merchants cooked vegetables and fish.
Tempura was not popular among Japanese people until the late Edo era.
A tempura street vendor started to serve tempura-fried sh caught  fresh
from Tokyo Bay, and it became popular with the common people.  Sesame
seed oil was mainly used in those days.  It seems very hard to learn
the knack of tempura frying. With a little  help, though, tempura deep
frying can be so simple that you will want  to show off to your
friends. The main ingredients are vegetables and  fish of your
choosing. There are a few points that you have to  remember: 1) slice
the vegetables thin so they can be fried in a  short time; 2) you will
need a deep, thick-walled pan (a wok is OK)  filled about 1 inch deep
with peanut oil (try other types of oil if  you like, but never add
lard or shortening); 3) deep-fry in small  batches so you can maintain
the temperature of the oil; and finally  4) tempura-fry vegetables at
340F and fish at 360F.  Ingredients  [Koromo (batter)]  Using cold
water (about 40F) is a must. This keeps the batter from  becoming
sticky. When you add the flour, whisk quickly just to mix it  in
evenly. Sticky batter results in oily tempura.  Beat the egg and mix
with water. Add flour and whisk quickly.  [Tentsuyu (tempura dip)]  1
tablespoon dashi no moto in 1 cup of water, boiled for two to three
minutes 2 tablespoons mirin. You can replace this with 1 tablespoon
sugar 2 tablespoons sake or dry white wine 1/4 cup soy sauce ginger
root to taste, freshly grated (optional) After you boil the dashi,
turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients.  [Vegetables &
Fish] (ingredients and preparation suggestions)  Carrots, cut into thin
sticks (i.e. 1 1/2 inches long) Onions, sliced  Green pepper, cut into
rings or any way you want Eggplant, thinly  sliced Broccoli, prepared
as for a for salad Green onions, (see mixed  vegetable tempura --
kakiage) Zucchini, thinly sliced Mushrooms,  halved, or whole if small
Green beans, halved lengthwise, or whole  Asparagus, bite-sized
(deep-fry 3 or 4 sticks together) Butternut  squash, bite-sized thin
slices Okra, halved lengthwise Snow pea pods,  whole  Cod, bite-sized
Shrimp, peeled, whole. Dip shrimp in the batter by  holding the tail
fin, and fry two or three at a time. Scallops, whole  if small Crab,
break shell and expose meat before dipping in batter  Squid, sliced
into rings or strips Dredge fish in flour before  dipping in batter.
Directions:  Heat the oil to 340F or 360F. Dip the vegetables or fish
in the  batter and place them in the oil. If it is difficult to handle
the  vegetable chunks, you may use a tablespoon to drop them in. Do not
fry too much at a time, in order to maintain the temperature. Take  the
tempura out of the oil just when the batter gets SLIGHTLY brown.
Vegetables usually take less than two to three minutes. Remember: the
thinner the vegetable, the faster it cooks. For fish, the time to  pull
it out is when the batter turns very slightly brown. It is good  idea
to do trial frying in the beginning. Taste it and decide how  long it
will have to be fried. Once you get the timing right, the  rest is
simple.  Serve with tentsuyu. Tempura is also served with rice. This is
called  ten-don. Put warm rice in a bowl or on a plate and place
tempura on  top of the rice. Pour on two or three tablespoons of
tentsuyu.  Another popular way of serving tempura is over a bowl of
noodles.  This is called tempura-udon or tempura-soba, and it is
traditional  Japanese fast food.  continued in part 2

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 586
Calories From Fat: 54
Total Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: 186mg
Sodium: 2200.5mg
Potassium: 346.9mg
Carbohydrates: 102.3g
Fiber: 3.9g
Sugar: 1.9g
Protein: 22.5g