Prep. time: Under 10 minutes
Cooking time: A few minutes

Tempura is a classic of Japanese cooking. Anything - or almost anything - can be prepared with this method: vegetables, seafood, fish, chicken, etc. The batter is light as a feather, totally unlike its North American counterparts.

The Japanse created tempura in the mid 16th century, taking their inspiration from Portuguese fried foods to please sailors and missionaries who, during meatless fast periods, dipped their fish and seafood in a fritter batter. The Japanese adapted the principle with consommate art and a lightness of flavor and texture that went far beyond the original.

The batter is called "koromo."

Usually ingredients are served in small portions as hors d'oeuvre on small plates, or as an assortment in a basket, served with a sauce on the side like:

• plain soy sauce
• seaweed broth and white radish sauce

(1) Sesame oil is often used but it is different from the oil usually found in supermarkets. We recommend a neutral oil to which you can add a few drops of sesame oil for flavor.

Preparation and frying

1. Heat the oil to 180° C/350°. Sesame oil is usually used (see note 1).
2. In a bowl, combine the ice water, 250 ml (1 cup) flour and the egg yolk; it is imperative that you use ice water. It allows the tempura to sear quickly without absorbing much oil to make it very crispy. It's a very light, digestible frying method.
3. Dip each ingredient into the bowl of flour, then into the batter (1).
4. Fry in hot oil;
5. Remove once the batter is lightly golden and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

Preparing the ingredients

• Vegetables: peel and cut into long thin slices: mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, sweet potato, etc
• Seafood: peel; leave the tail on shrimp as a "handle"
• Fish: scale; use only the fillets except for small fish like sardines that can be eaten whole
• Chicken: in long thin strips
• Seaweed, spinach, basil leaves