crispy shrimp tempura, tentsuyu on the side

Ingredients · tap to check

• 6 large shrimp, peeled, tails on
• 1 cup cake flour (or all-purpose), cold
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup ice-cold sparkling water
• neutral oil for frying
• soy sauce + mirin + dashi (tentsuyu, 1:1:4)
• grated daikon
• steamed rice to serve

The Way

1. Devein the shrimp and make small cuts along the belly, then press gently — this keeps them straight while they fry.
2. Heat the oil to 175°C / 350°F. A drop of batter should sink halfway, then float.
3. Make the batter LAST and keep it cold: yolk, sparkling water, then flour folded in with chopsticks. Lumps are good. Smooth batter = heavy crust.
4. Dust the shrimp in flour, drag through the batter, and lower in slowly — tail first, a little shimmy. Flick extra batter over the top for those craggy edges.
5. 2 to 3 minutes until pale gold and whisper-crisp. Rest on a rack, never paper.
6. Warm the tentsuyu, drop in a snowball of grated daikon, and dip while it still crackles.

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