Name: Tempura prawns
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 green king prawns, peeled, tails intact; 100 gram pumpkin, thinly sliced into 9 x 3cm pieces; 1 carrot, thinly sliced lengthways; 2 long, thin eggplant, trimmed, thinly sliced lengthways; 1 cup (150g) tempura flour, plus extra to dust; 1 cup (250ml) ice-cold water; rice bran oil, to deep-fry; tempura dipping sauce, to serve

Ingredients

8 green king prawns, peeled, tails intact

100 gram pumpkin, thinly sliced into 9 x 3cm pieces

1 carrot, thinly sliced lengthways

2 long, thin eggplant, trimmed, thinly sliced lengthways

1 cup (150g) tempura flour, plus extra to dust

1 cup (250ml) ice-cold water

rice bran oil, to deep-fry

tempura dipping sauce, to serve

Method

1.Slit top of each prawn and press with a thumb to open and flatten. Remove veins. Dust prawns and vegetables lightly with extra flour and set aside.

2.Heat oil to 180°C in a deep-fryer or heavy- based saucepan. Mix tempura flour and water together in a bowl with a fork, until just combined. Batter should still be lumpy.

3.Dip each ingredient into batter, leaving prawn tails uncoated. Carefully lower prawns one at a time into hot oil. Cook in batches for 2-3 minutes, until pale golden. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel while continuing to cook remaining prawns and vegetables for 2-3 minutes.

4.Arrange on a serving plate and serve with tempura dipping sauce.

Tempura flour is available at supermarkets. The water must be as cold as possible, as this helps prevent the batter absorbing too much oil, keeping it light and crispy. Make a tempura dipping sauce by combining 1/4 cup mirin, 1/4 cup light soy sauce and 1/4 cup warm water or dashi (Japanese stock). To check if oil is hot enough, carefully drop a small amount of batter into the oil. If the batter quickly rises to the top, the oil is ready.
Note

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Ingredients

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