By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

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Tempura 2 ways
contrasts traditional,
local versions

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Adeline C. Baird's request for a recipe for sweet potato tempura provides an opportunity to compare a traditional cooking technique with the way it's been localized in Hawaii.

Hiroshi Fukui, chef at L'Uraku restaurant, was trained in the exacting disciplines of the Japanese kitchen. He says tempura is a good example of how formal Japanese preparation has been modified and simplified to suit local tastes.

Local-style tempura batter is made with flour and cornstarch. The cornstarch is added for crispness, but Fukui says it produces an artificial flavor. Traditional Japanese batter is made with hakuriki ko, a low-gluten, less starchy flour, which produces a crispy crust without cornstarch.

Also, local recipes use whole eggs; in Japan, only the egg yolk is used, providing more richness. And local batters tend to be thicker, like pancake batter, producing a more substantial coating. Recipes often call for the batter to be lumpy. Traditional tempura has a light, thin coat. The batter is smooth and in fact is sometimes strained to make it lump-free.

Fukui makes his batter by feel rather than measurement. For a large mixing bowl he'd start with three egg yolks mixed with cold water and add flour until the right consistency is reached: The batter should cling to a chopstick, but still be thin enough to drip freely. And mix gently, so as not to activate the gluten -- that makes the crust chewy.

Then comes the matter of cooking oil. In the most exclusive Japanese restaurants only sesame oil is used to fry tempura. It provides a crispier finish and better flavor.

That approach would be very expensive, so Fukui suggests vegetable oil for home cooking, with a little sesame oil added for the flavor.

If you're working with a small batch, though, and want to see what a difference upscaling your oil will do -- why not try?

Another note: In upscale Japanese restaurants you wouldn't be served tempura sauce. Instead you'd get a slice of lemon, lime or yuzu (a lime-like citrus), plus salts flavored with green tea and/or roasted shrimp shells, finely ground. You spritz and sprinkle, rather than dip.

As for type of sweet potato to use, any type would work -- purple, yellow or even yams. It's up to you.

Some techniques are universal: Use very cold water and keep the batter on ice as you use it. Cold batter won't absorb as much oil. Keep the oil at a consistent temperature, frying small batches so they cook evenly.

So, want to do it local-style or traditional? Both choices follow, beginning with the Japanese.

Sweet Potato Tempura

1 pound sweet potato, peeled
1/2 cup flour
Vegetable oil for frying
>> Batter:
1 egg yolk
3/4 cold water
1 cup hakuriki ko (see note)

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Soak in water 5 to 10 minutes to remove excess starch. Rinse well and wipe slices dry.

To make batter: Beat egg yolk and water, then add flour gradually, whisking gently until smooth. Add just enough flour so that batter clings to a chopstick but still drips.

Flour slices lightly, then dip in batter.

Fry potatoes in oil heated to 350 degrees, about 3 minutes. Remove with chopsticks or tongs and "cut" the oil, or tap the chopsticks against the side of the pot to shake off oil from each slice. Serve immediately. Serves 3 as a side dish.

Note: Hakuriki ko (low-gluten wheat flour) is sold at Daiei for $5.29 per kilogram bag.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 575 calories, 24 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 81 g carbohydrate, 9 g protein.*

Tempura Batter

"Cook Japanese Hawaiian Style," by Muriel Kamada Miura (1974)

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water

Sift flour and cornstarch. Beat egg and water together. Add liquid all at once to dry ingredients. Mix only until moistened; batter will be lumpy.

Dip seafood or vegetables into batter. Fry in oil at 350 to 365 for vegetables; 350 to 375 degrees for seafood -- until light brown. Drain.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.