Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura/Tempura Udon

One of my favorite things to order at a Japanese restaurant. Turns it it isn’t too difficult to make at home – but I’ll probably be eating Maneki Neko’s version the majority of the time anyway, as we just aren’t frequent deep fryers in our household. Recipes from Just One Cookbook. Serves two with some tempura left over.

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For the tempura:
4 pieces shrimp
4 pieces asparagus
4 slices zucchini
4 slices sweet potato
potato/corn starch (for dusting)
neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for deep frying). add a touch of sesame oil to neutral oil for flavor
Tempura Batter: (egg + water : flour = 1 : 1 by volume)
1 large egg (cold 1 large egg = 40 ml)
200 ml water (iced water)
1 cup all purpose flour 

Devein shrimp and slice down the back so they can flatten into long pieces.

Heat oil to 340-360 degrees (vegetables

Combine batter ingredients (keep cold by keeping an ice cube or two in there) quickly – batter should be lumpy. Coat shrimp and veggies in batter.

Fry in batches. Shrimp and green vegetables take two to three minutes. Root vegetables take 4 minutes so I like to do them first. Salt immediately after they’re cooked through. I also like to keep everything warm by putting them on rimmed baking sheets in the oven on “keep warm” function.

For the udon:

2 scallions, sliced
4 frozen fish cakes
2 packets udon
2 cups dashi
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin
1 tsp granulated sugar
pinch Kosher salt

Bring dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and salt to a simmer in sauce pan.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook udon noodles for 1-2 minutes. Drain, and rinse if needed.

Add noodles, fish cakes and scallions to broth. Serve with tempura.