Tempura Vegetables

Ready in 30 minutes Serves 4-6 as a starter

TEMPURA BATTER 1 egg yolk 1 cup cold water 1 cup plain flour or gluten-free flour ½ teaspoon salt

A selection of vegetables, e.g: 2-3 zucchini, thinly angle-sliced 12-16 very thin slices pumpkin 12-16 thin slices eggplant, halved 12 oyster mushrooms

Plain flour to coat

DIPPING SAUCE

¼ cup Japanese soy sauce or tamari ¼ cup mirin

1 tsp instant dashi or bonito flakes 2cm piece of ginger

Place egg yolk in a mixing bowl. Use a knife or chopsticks to break yolk, add water and mix with just 2-3 strokes. Combine flour and salt and add to egg all at once. Pass knife or chopsticks through the mixture once each way. The batter will be lumpy with loose bits of unmixed flour. It can rest for up at an hour before using. While it rests, make the dipping sauce and slice the vegetables. To make the sauce, place soy sauce or tamari in a small pot with mirin and instant dashi or bonito flakes. Grate the ginger and squeeze to extract juice. Add juice to pot and discard solids. Bring mixture to a simmer, then remove from heat and allow to cool before serving. Recipe can be doubled and keeps for weeks in the fridge. To cook tempura, in a large, deep pot, wok or deep-fryer, heat 7-10cm oil to 170C.test temperature by adding a small drop of batter. It should start to sink then immediately rise to the surface, gently bubbling around the edges. If batter burns, add a little more oil to cool it down. To fry, coat vegetable slices in flour then into batter and slide into the hot oil. Drip extra batter through your fingers to coat tops of vegetables with a little more as they cook if desired. Cook for 2-3 minutes, turning as needed, until golden and crispy. Don’t overcrowd the pot; fry in stages and add more oil as necessary. Drain well and place on paper towels to remove excess oil. Serve hot, accompanied with dipping sauce.