Connie’s notes
If you’re one of those people who still believe that tempura is deep fried battered shrimp, well, you’d only be half-correct. Ebi (shrimp) tempura is only one variant of deep fried battered food in Japan. Just about any small piece of food can be cooked into tempura. Fish, vegetables and, yes, mushrooms.
This recipe was inspired by a dish we enjoyed at Uudamchay in Hanoi.
Ingredients
- cooking oil for deep frying
- 200 grams fresh enoki mushrooms 7 oz
- 2 tablespoons potato starch
- 1 egg white from a medium egg
- ½ cup rice flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 tablespoon aonori
- spicy mayo to serve
Instructions
- Pour enough cooking oil in a frying pan or wok to reach a depth of at least three inches. Set on the stove over medium-low heat.
- Cut off the root ends of the enoki measuring about an inch from the bottom. Discard the roots.Pry the enoki mushrooms apart to separate them into bundles.
- Sprinkle in the potato starch and toss to coat the mushrooms evenly.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy.
- Stir in the rice flour until smooth.
- Add a few pieces of ice. Pour in cold water slowly, stirring with the other hand, to form a thin batter.
- Fold in the aonori.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high.
- Dip each bundle of enoki in batter, shake off the excess and fry in hot oil, flipping after about half a minute, until golden and crisp.
- Frying only two to three pieces at a time (depending on the size of your pan), repeat until all the mushrooms have been battered and fried.
- Drain the enoki mushroom tempura and serve with spicy mayo for dipping.
Bok choy and mushroom egg drop soup
