Tempura Moriawase

Ingredients

• 12 large raw prawns, shell on
• 8 slices kabocha squash, 5mm thick
• 1 small aubergine
• 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 8 shiso leaves
• 1 sweet potato, cut into 5mm rounds
• 120g plain flour, plus 3 tbsp for dusting
• 40g cornflour
• 1 egg
• 220ml iced water
• Neutral oil for frying, about 1.5 litres
• 2 tbsp sesame oil, optional
• 300ml dashi, for the tentsuyu
• 75ml soy sauce, for the tentsuyu
• 75ml mirin, for the tentsuyu
• 100g daikon, finely grated
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• Fine salt and lemon wedges

Before you cook

• Peel the prawns but leave the last tail segment on, then pull out the dark vein with a cocktail stick.
• Make three or four shallow cuts across the belly of each prawn and press it straight with your thumbs until you hear the fibres give, which stops it curling in the oil.
• Pat every piece of seafood and vegetable completely dry with kitchen paper, because water makes the batter slide off and the oil spit.
• Cut the aubergine into wedges, then fan each wedge by making three lengthways cuts that stop short of the stem end.
• Trim the shiitake stems and cut a cross in each cap.
• Make the tentsuyu by bringing the dashi, soy sauce and mirin to a simmer, then setting it aside to keep warm.
• Squeeze most of the liquid from the grated daikon and mound it in small dishes with the grated ginger.
• Put the 120g flour and the cornflour in the freezer for 15 minutes, and put a bowl of water with ice in the fridge.

Steps

1. Pour the frying oil into a wide heavy pot to a depth of 6cm, add the sesame oil if using, and heat it to 175C.
2. Dust all the prawns and vegetables lightly with the three tablespoons of plain flour and tap off the excess.
3. Beat the egg into the iced water in a bowl set over ice, then discard any foam that gathers on top.
4. Tip the chilled flour and cornflour into the egg water all at once.
5. Stir just ten or twelve times with chopsticks held loosely, stopping while dry pockets of flour are still visible, since a smooth batter turns heavy and bready.
6. Dip a slice of kabocha into the batter, let the surplus run off, and slide it into the oil away from you.
7. Fry four or five pieces of kabocha at a time for 3 minutes, turning once, until the batter is set and only barely coloured.
8. Lift them onto a wire rack standing over paper and let the oil come back to 175C.
9. Fry the sweet potato rounds the same way for 3 minutes and the aubergine for 2 minutes, keeping each vegetable in its own batch.
10. Hold a shiso leaf by the stem, dip only its underside in the batter, and lay it into the oil for 30 seconds so it stays green and translucent.
11. Raise the oil to 180C for the prawns.
12. Hold a prawn by the tail, dip its body in the batter, and lower it into the oil, letting go once it floats.
13. Fry three or four prawns at a time for 90 seconds, until the batter is crisp and the tails have turned bright red.
14. Flick a few drops of batter from your chopsticks over the frying prawns to build the classic lacy spikes.
15. Drain everything on the rack and never stack pieces, as trapped steam softens the crust within seconds.
16. Arrange the tempura on paper-lined plates, stacking the pieces leaning against each other.
17. Pour the warm tentsuyu into small bowls and serve with the daikon and ginger to stir in, plus salt and lemon for those who prefer it dry.