Vegetable and Shrimp Tempura with a Dipping Sauce | Jamie Oliver

Break away from the old while trying something new can be refreshing. It’s like hitting the reset button: recharge, rewire and explore the lesser known. I’m all for some adventure and change in the kitchen. When spring brings us these huge fresh artichokes, I want to do something different. What about vegetable and shrimp tempura? My mouth starts watering when I think about it.

Tempura is a crisp batter which originates from Portuguese settlers in Japan and has become a part of Japanese culture. It’s great for battering fish, shellfish and vegetables. In Japan there are lots of tempura restaurants where everyone sits behind a bar and you get the most amazing tempura for over two hours by a chef and his ‘master’, who does a lot of shouting.

There are no assistants around to prep the artichoke. I have seen it done, but have not once cut and peel or “turn an artichoke.” After watching a Jacque Pépin’s video a few times, I use his technique to trim a box of four globe artichokes into edible artichoke hearts. Notably, it’s not something intuitive to do, but I find myself engrossed in the task. A sharp Japanese paring knife seems indispensable for this.

I gather shrimps and a variety of vegetables for the tempura dish: artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, broccoli florets, sweet potato and snap peas. Then I proceed to make the dipping sauce and the batter for the tempura. (See Jamie Oliver’s recipe below for details.) That’s the easy part.

I don’t have a set up for frying food. So I end up having to fry small batches of shrimps and vegetables in a regular saucepan. With an instant thermometer to keep the oil temperature at around 325°F, I drop shrimps and vegetables, a piece at a time. By the time I am done, the tempura are no longer piping hot — unlike those served by the chef in the restaurant. For sure, I break away from the old and try something off the beaten track. It’s a new pathway for change; and it brings happiness.

Print Recipe

Vegetable or Shrimp Tempura with a Dipping Sauce | Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

• 1 handful shrimps, shelled (optional)
• 1 handful broccoli florets
• 1 handful cauliflower florets
• 4 fresh red chillies, left whole
• edible flowers, such as viola, borage, courgette , optional
• FOR THE TEMPURA BATTER:
• 2 free-range egg yolks
• 350 ml water, iced
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 200 g self-raising flour
• FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE:
• 12 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Instructions

1

Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

2

I suggest you use a deep-fat fryer as it’s easier to control. Heat it to 170°C/325°F. You can use a wok half-filled with oil, safely positioned on a stove with a thermometer, but be aware of other people (curious kids) and of possibly knocking things over if doing it this way.

3

To make the batter, whisk the egg yolks and iced water together, add the cornflour and flour, and stir together using chopsticks – this helps to keep the batter a bit lumpy, which is what you want. Add the veg, chillies and shrimp to the batter. (Feel free to add any other veggies you fancy. Fine slices of sweet potato, whole spring onions, coriander stalks and baby courgettes with their flowers are all good.) Once battered, pick up the lobster and veg and carefully put them into the oil.

4

Don’t try to cook the tempura all at once – do them in 2 batches. Cook them until light golden and crisp on both sides. Drain them on some kitchen paper and then put them on to a plate. Serve the tempura with the dipping sauce and a dish of flavoured salt – I would suggest either jasmine tea salt or citrus salt.

5

Try this: I once worked in a Japanese restaurant and when the chefs put the veg into the oil, they dripped extra batter from a height on to them. This gave the tempura a really crunchy, spiky look and feel. You don’t have to do this but it’s a good little trick.

Notes

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/seafood-recipes/the-best-tempura-lobster-with-dipping-sauce/ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/dining/deep-fried-and-good-for-you.html