COATING Style 4:
THIN BATTERSJapanese-Style Tempura
Tempura-style batters were originally brought to Japan by
Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century.‡ ‡ ‡ Since
then, tempura has been perfected to a near art form by
Japanese chefs. At the best tempura houses in Japan, all of
your courses will be cooked by a single tempura chef who
spent years in apprenticeship before ever being allowed to
touch the batter or fry oil.
Tempura chefs are sort of like the Jedi of the cooking
world: they must deftly perform with the utmost skill and
precision, using extremely dangerous tools, all while
maintaining a calm, serene demeanor. It is an elegant
technique, from a more civilized time. The bad news is that
you, I, and the vast majority of people in the world are
never going to become as great as the masters who spend
their entire lives training. But the good news is that we can
get about 90 percent of the way there right off the bat.
The key characteristics of a tempura-style batter are
extreme lightness of color and texture: good tempura should
be pale blond with an extraordinarily lacy, light, and crisp
coating. To achieve this takes just a little more care than
other types of batter. Traditional tempura batter is made by
combining flour (usually a mix of wheat flour and lower-
protein-rice flour—I use wheat flour and cornstarch instead)
with eggs and ice-cold water. The batter is mixed until just