TENDON

Serves 4

30 mins preparation time

30 mins cooking time

Sauce:

- 2 handfuls katsuobushi

- 100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) soy sauce

- 100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) mirin

- 2 tablespoons raw (demerara) sugar

- 4 cm x 4 cm (1 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in) piece kombu seaweed

- 360 ml (12 1/2 fl oz) water

Tempura batter:

- 1 egg

- 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) very cold water

- 75 g (2 1/2 oz/1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

- 8 large raw prawns (shrimp)

- 1/4 white sweet potato

- 1/2 green pepper

- 1/2 eggplant

- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

- 4 bowls of cooked rice

- 1 sheet nori seaweed, shredded

Place all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, then strain. You can keep this sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. 

For the tempura batter, break the egg into a large bowl. Mix well with the water, then add the flour and lightly mix, leaving it slightly lumpy—this makes for a crispy batter. Set aside in the refrigerator. 

Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the tail intact. Cut along the back and a little along the front so the prawns stay flat when they're cooked. Cut the sweet potato into 6 mm (1/4 in) slices, and the pepper and eggplant into 4 pieces. Heat the oil in a saucepan to 170°C (325°F). Dip the vegetables in the batter and deep-fry until golden and cooked through, then drain on paper towels. Raise the temperature of the oil to 180°C (350°F). Holding the prawns by their tails, dip them in the batter one at a time and deep-fry until golden and just cooked, then drain on paper towels. 

Serve the rice in four large individual bowl, each dressed with a tablespoon of the sauce. Place some shredded nori and the tempura on the rice, then drizzle over another 2 tablespoons of the sauce. 

Enjoy your cooking with your loved one

Sumber buku: Maori murota, Tokyo cult recipes, May 2016