Tempura Udon

I've already posted a short-cut recipe to making udon soup some time ago so I will not repeat myself. I just added some Mixed Tempura (prawns, scallops, zucchini, onions, mushrooms etc) to my udon and made a meal out of it.

The batter for Tempura is light and crispy, not as thick and heavy as the Chinese one. And I made my own sauce for the extra Tempura that I ate without the udon, Japanese ingredients being expensive and hard to find over here.

The next day, I cooked some Japanese rice and made a Ten Don aka Tempura with Rice (had batter left-over). Though the sauce for it is normally sweeter than the usual Tempura dip, so I just added Ketchap Manis, a bit of honey and a squeeze of lemon to the existing dip and re-heated it.

I also did something quite nice with some left-over fresh salmon. I fried it quickly in the hot oil (so that it is crispy on the outside and still a little raw on the inside) and then I squeezed some lemon juice, added salt and pepper and poured a little Teriyaki sauce over it and ate it with my Ten Don. Yummy.

Tempura Batter :

200g Plain Flour

50g Rice Flour

3 Tbsps Corn Starch

1 Egg

200ml Cold Water

Mix the flour. Make a well and crack the egg in it. Starting from the egg, stir very gently (with a pair of chopsticks) outwards towards the flour and gradually add in the cold water as you stir. The batter should be slightly lumpy and not totally smooth. Set aside for 10-15 minutes. I would do the frying in vegetable oil with a touch of sesame oil added.

Tempura Sauce :

1 Tbsp Sugar and

1/4 cup White Wine (to replace Mirin)

1/2 cup Ikan Bilis/Fish stock (to replace Dashi stock)

1/4 cup Light Soya Sauce

1 Tbsp Teriyaki Sauce (optional)

Grated giant white radish (optional)

Sesame seeds (optional)

Heat up the sugar in a slightly-oiled small casserole and caramelise it with the white wine. Pour in the fish stock etc and stir over low heat. The radish and sesame seeds should only be added into the sauce when it is cooled and as you serve it.