Edomae-Style Tempura with Matcha Salt

Method

1. Make your own dashi. Put the water and kombu in a 14 cm pot and soak for 10 minutes, then heat gently on medium-low heat for 10 min; when small bubbles rise at the edge, lift out the kombu just before it boils. Add the bonito flakes, let it come to a brief boil, turn off the heat and leave for 2 min, then strain without squeezing. Return to the pot with the soy sauce and mirin and bring just to a simmer: that is your tentsuyu.

   Add in this stepWater for the dashi 180 mlKombu 4 gKatsuobushi (bonito flakes) 5 gSoy sauce 2 tbspMirin 2 tbsp

   medium-low heat

2. Grind the coarse salt fine in a mortar and mix it with the matcha. Finely grate the daikon and let it drain lightly in a sieve. Put the cake flour in the freezer for 15 minutes now.

   Add in this stepCoarse sea salt 1½ tspMatcha powder ½ tspDaikon radish 80 g

3. Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the last tail segment, make 4 or 5 cuts across the underside and press along the back to straighten them. Trim the tail tip and scrape out the water. Bone the fish and cut it into 4 × 5 cm pieces, remove the shiitake stems and wash the shiso. Pat everything completely dry, spread on a tray and keep in the fridge until frying.

   Add in this stepLarge prawns, shell on (e.g. tiger prawns) 6White fish fillet (cod, sole or similar) 120 gShiso (perilla) leaves 4Fresh shiitake mushrooms 2

4. Pour the oil and sesame oil, mixed, into a heavy 20 cm pot to a depth of at least 4 cm and heat on medium heat for 10 min to 170 °C. The sesame oil gives the nutty aroma and deep gold colour of Edomae tempura. Turn the handle inwards and stay by the pot.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil for frying 0.9 LToasted sesame oil 100 ml

   medium heat

5. To keep it ice-cold, make the batter in 1 round(s), dividing the yolk, water and flour accordingly. Dust the ingredients thinly with flour. Beat the yolk with the ice water, sift in the chilled flour and cut through it with upright chopsticks about 10 times. A thin batter with dry flour still visible is exactly right.

   Add in this stepCake flour for dusting 2 tbspEgg yolk 1Ice-cold water 120 mlCake flour, chilled in the freezer 60 g

6. At 170 °C on medium heat, dip only the back of each shiso leaf in batter and fry with the shiitake for 1 min, then lift out. Next, batter the fish and fry for 2 min, until the flesh is white and flakes. Fry in 1 round(s), skimming off stray batter every time.

   medium heat

7. Raise the heat to medium-high heat to reach 180 °C. Batter the prawns, lower them in, then flick a few drops of batter over them with chopstick tips to build a crisp, blossoming coat (hana-age). Fry for 1 min 30 sec until pale gold. Fry in 1 round(s) and stand them upright on a rack to drain.

   medium-high heat

8. Serve a piece or two at a time as they come out of the oil, as a tempura bar does. Fish and shiso shine with matcha salt; prawns and shiitake with warm tentsuyu and grated daikon. Save the crunchy batter bits (tenkasu) for udon or rice balls.