Recipe: Shrimp Tempura with Wasabi Dipping Sauce (Japanese Cooking At Its Best)

SHRIMP TEMPURA
Servings: 6

oil for frying
3 pounds fresh shrimp, medium or large
1 recipe tempura batter (recipe below)
Wasabi dipping sauce (recipe below)

Heat the oil in deep fryer to 365 F (185 C).

Shell and devein shrimp, leaving the tails attached, Dip shrimp into tempura batter.

Drop in oil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper. Arrange on a warm serving platter.

Serve with wasabi dipping sauce.

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TEMPURA BATTER

1 cup flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups water

Combine flour, cornstarch and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients and whisk until batter is smooth.

Chill before using. Dip the prepared seafood in the cold batter, coating the pieces completely.

Drop in a deep fryer at 360 degrees F. (185 C.) and fry for 2 to 5 minutes, according to size and shape.

Usage: Fried seafood tempura, vegetable tempura, gougeonnettes of fish (small fish sticks), thin fish fillets, scallops.

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WASABI DIPPING SAUCE

2 tablespoons wasabi powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons grated daikon (large, sweet radish of Japanese origin)

Stir the powdered wasabi into 2 tablespoons cold water to form a paste. Mix in soy sauce and the grated daikon and serve in a small bowl.

Wasabi, a pungent and fiery-tasting Japanese ingredient similar to horseradish is available in powder form or as a paste.