remaining vegetables (and/or shrimp) a few pieces at a
time. Immediately start agitating them with chopsticks or
a wine-mesh spider, separating the vegetables, flipping
them, and constantly exposing them to fresh oil.
Continue frying until the batter is completely crisp and
pale blond, about 1 minute.- Transfer the tempura to a paper-towel-lined plate or
baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt. Serve
with lemon wedges or honey-miso mayonnaise.
Honey-Miso Mayonnaise
At Clio, Ken Oringer used to serve the house vegetable
tempura with a choice of two dipping sauces: a traditional
tentsuyu (made with a Japanese bonito-and-kelp broth, soy
sauce, and mirin) and a honey-miso aioli. This recipe is
based on the latter, though I’ve stripped it down a bit, into a
simple five-ingredient mayonnaise. The result is a balanced
sweet-and-savory sauce that is light enough to go perfectly
with fried shrimp and vegetables but tasty enough that, well,
you’ll want to eat it with a spoon in the middle of the night
by the pale glow of the refrigerator light.
NOTE: For this recipe, it’s important that you use white
miso paste (preferably Kyoto-style saikyo miso). Darker
miso paste is too strong in flavor and will throw the sauce
out of balance.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
1 large egg yolk