Comments on: The Easiest & Lightest of Tempura Batters…

By: Ann-Katrin

Ann-Katrin — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 10:19:09 +0000

Oh, thanks for the post! I always tend to avoid the tempura just because of the reasons you mention; Too thick batter, too greasy and so forth, and I never want to chance it. But I’ll take your advice and try what you said; Rice flour and definitely mixed oil for frying. The other tips I already follow, especially the drying on paper towels, works really well with bacon as well, if you want crispy bacon to cut over a salad or so.

By: Footloose

Footloose — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 20:36:51 +0000

It seems to me that it is not the deep frying itself that was introduced by the Portuguese but the idea of skipping meat for Lent (ad tempora quadragesimae, quaresma in Spanish), hence the shrimps and vegetables. Presumably, they were introduced to christian converts. But even this is kind of specious because the japanese, being previously mostly buddhists, were not gung ho about eating meat either. In fact they were so opposed to eating red meat that they did its cooking outside on heated plow moldboards which was supposed to have originated their teppan to serve to mostly foreigners.

By: ragamuffingirl

ragamuffingirl — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 08:24:27 +0000

I have a subscription to Saveur—recipes are few but fantastic, articles all properly researched and well-written, it’s an intelligent and drool-worthy food mag. :) Wish there were more like it.

By: linda

linda — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:01:43 +0000

MM ,beside all the vegies you mentioned above, I love mushrooms,sage leaves and onions in my tempura,too.

By: natie

natie — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 19:39:01 +0000

Khew…poetry…

By: EJ

EJ — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 11:03:59 +0000

Yes, beer is a good option. We once had a professional chef from a Japanese restaurant serve at a party at home and this is what he used to create ''restaurant-quality'' tempura.

By: ami

ami — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 08:50:17 +0000

This brings back so many memories since this is one of the meals that my foster family cooked for me when I was an exchange student in Japan for a week. They had a mini deep fryer and the tempura shrimp/veggies were cooked right beside the dining table and served straight to our plates.

By: Khew

Khew — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 08:29:59 +0000

The advantage of rice flour, apart from the crisp results, is that it browns slower if at all. Hence, frying can be done for longer to ensure the food is cooked through. Plus, it sort of repels the oil.

Gluten elicits such cognitive dissonance. With adequate aeration/leavening, hydration and development, it provides the structure needed for a brittle but lasting and crispy shell. On the other hand, without the precise treatment, it can be heavy, chewy and oil absorbent. A trick to getting around this and have the best of both worlds is to use baking ammonia( ammonium carbonate ). What this does is it weakens the gluten in an incomparable way resulting in an extremely porous structure leavened by the CO2 produced. Think corals! The porosity means quick drying and therefore thorough crisping. Gluten being gluten, it still maintains structure and hardness but in this case rendered very brittle. Frying needs to be quick to prevent oil absorption. The addition of egg yolk gives quicker colouring while some rice flour contributes added crispness. Be warned though, you only need very little ammonia and it needs to be thoroughly incorporated.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 05:05:04 +0000

I love Heston Blumenthal’s books, shows and ideas… fantastic.

By: Footloose

Footloose — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:32:56 +0000

Heston Blumenthal is one celebrity chef I never tire of watching although there is just no sane chance of me replicating his search for perfection at home. Just as you suggested, he used beer for his fish and chips batter, mixed it with the flour just until blended and still lumpy. Loaded it into a CO2 soda siphon and refrigerated it before spritzing it out to coat his filleted turbot. Tried it skipping the soda siphon bit for gambas rebosadas which turned out perfectly ethereal.