Cheat's Tempura
Discussion
Don't get me wrong, a good, freshly made tempura batter covering a king prawn, piece of squid or other delight is quite possibly one of the most satisfying things to eat. However, I find that it is a messy procedure and always write-off my cooker top with drips of batter and fat.
Today I had a meeting in Grimsby and being early, decided to head down to the docks to find some fresh fish. I came away with a sea bass, guilt head sea bream and a kilo of king prawns, fresh this morning.
I've got a bit of an obsession at the moment with salt and chili dishes from the chinese and so decided to replicate without the hassle of tempura.
How:
Shell and De-vein prawns. Add plenty of salt and pepper and cover in corn flour. Deep fry for three minutes and drain. Meanwhile chop and red chili, 2 cloves of garlic and two spring onions and saute in a little oil.
Serve and eat at once in a greedy manner.
Great texture, deeply savoury and spicy to boot!
YUM!!
Today I had a meeting in Grimsby and being early, decided to head down to the docks to find some fresh fish. I came away with a sea bass, guilt head sea bream and a kilo of king prawns, fresh this morning.
I've got a bit of an obsession at the moment with salt and chili dishes from the chinese and so decided to replicate without the hassle of tempura.
How:
Shell and De-vein prawns. Add plenty of salt and pepper and cover in corn flour. Deep fry for three minutes and drain. Meanwhile chop and red chili, 2 cloves of garlic and two spring onions and saute in a little oil.
Serve and eat at once in a greedy manner.
Great texture, deeply savoury and spicy to boot!
YUM!!
Edited by Pferdestarke on Wednesday 4th February 21:51
MMmmm. I too share you obsession with the whole 'chilli and salt' thing from the chinese, and often get irrational cravings for this sort of stuff. Do you have a deep fat fryer or do you do it in a pan? I only ask because last time I tried deep frying I wanted to do cod in beer batter, spent ages and loads of money prepping and then didn't get my oil hot enough. All the batter just sogged off when I put it in, I got f*cked off, threw it all away and went down the chippy.
I do a lot of wok deep frying, and after the first couple of times its not too scary / messy. I dont do tempura too much as its tricky, but this works well:
i make a batter for chicken pieces (cut through the bone and with skin on) from a few tablespoons of cornflour, one egg yolk, half a teaspoon of dark soy and two teaspoons of light soy. It coats more like breadcrumbs than a batter, but when you deep fry in the wok it spits much less than a wet batter and makes much less mess. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and drain on paper towels,
I then tip the oil from the wok, put two tablespoons of fresh oil in and fry up garlic, ginger, chillies, soy, and whatever flavourings (things like sugar, vinegar, rice wine, black beans, chilli bean saue, pickled chillies etc,depending on what taste you want), then thicken the sauce with cornstarch, and toss the chicken back in to coat with some chopped spring onions or coriander. the sauce will really stick to the batter coating. Its like the sweet and sour you get in a chinese restaurant, only not vile.
i make a batter for chicken pieces (cut through the bone and with skin on) from a few tablespoons of cornflour, one egg yolk, half a teaspoon of dark soy and two teaspoons of light soy. It coats more like breadcrumbs than a batter, but when you deep fry in the wok it spits much less than a wet batter and makes much less mess. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and drain on paper towels,
I then tip the oil from the wok, put two tablespoons of fresh oil in and fry up garlic, ginger, chillies, soy, and whatever flavourings (things like sugar, vinegar, rice wine, black beans, chilli bean saue, pickled chillies etc,depending on what taste you want), then thicken the sauce with cornstarch, and toss the chicken back in to coat with some chopped spring onions or coriander. the sauce will really stick to the batter coating. Its like the sweet and sour you get in a chinese restaurant, only not vile.
Edited by Wadeski on Wednesday 4th February 22:13
Wadeski said:
I do a lot of wok deep frying, and after the first couple of times its not too scary / messy. I dont do tempura too much as its tricky, but this works well:
i make a batter for chicken pieces (cut through the bone and with skin on) from a few tablespoons of cornflour, one egg yolk, half a teaspoon of dark soy and two teaspoons of light soy. It coats more like breadcrumbs than a batter, but when you deep fry in the wok it spits much less than a wet batter and makes much less mess. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and drain on paper towels,
I then tip the oil from the wok, put two tablespoons of fresh oil in and fry up garlic, ginger, chillies, soy, and whatever flavourings (things like sugar, vinegar, rice wine, black beans, chilli bean saue, pickled chillies etc,depending on what taste you want), then thicken the sauce with cornstarch, and toss the chicken back in to coat with some chopped spring onions or coriander. the sauce will really stick to the batter coating. Its like the sweet and sour you get in a chinese restaurant, only not vile.
Mmmmmmmm.... i make a batter for chicken pieces (cut through the bone and with skin on) from a few tablespoons of cornflour, one egg yolk, half a teaspoon of dark soy and two teaspoons of light soy. It coats more like breadcrumbs than a batter, but when you deep fry in the wok it spits much less than a wet batter and makes much less mess. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and drain on paper towels,
I then tip the oil from the wok, put two tablespoons of fresh oil in and fry up garlic, ginger, chillies, soy, and whatever flavourings (things like sugar, vinegar, rice wine, black beans, chilli bean saue, pickled chillies etc,depending on what taste you want), then thicken the sauce with cornstarch, and toss the chicken back in to coat with some chopped spring onions or coriander. the sauce will really stick to the batter coating. Its like the sweet and sour you get in a chinese restaurant, only not vile.
You single...?Seriously, these recipes sound great. I love tempura (am half Japanese!) but agree with the hassle & mess aspect. I am slowly teaching the OH to like seafood <sigh> and have been using Oriental style dishes as he loves anything Chinese or Japanese-flavoured. Will foist some of these ideas upon him to get him to eat squid
OllieWinchester said:
MMmmm. Do you have a deep fat fryer or do you do it in a pan?
I have both but find the deep-fryer an arse to clean. Plus I don't like oil with a seafood tang. For the prawns I poured 2.5cm oil in a high-sided pan. This way I can easily dispose of it when I've done frying and I don't waste a load of oil.Squid is next week! Oh yes!
Wadeski said:
you think you have it bad? my other half is veggie!!!
there are only so many ways to cook tofu lol
there are only so many ways to cook tofu lol
I thought dating a non-foodie was bad, but you have my deepest sympathies! Shall we swap them? OH is a real carnivore, would teach him fish isn't so bad if he went out with a non meat eater!! Do you cook separate meals then?
(Sorry for going OT! Thanks Pferde for the OP
)shirt said:
can i ask what the craic is with buying from the fish docks? its not that much of a detour to go home via GRIMsby, but i pass hull fish docks everyday.
I was literally around the corner. They have wholesale and retail sales but have a minimum £10 spend on cards. I suppose it gives you the feeling it's fresher as it is right next to the fish wholesale market. My bass was £3.10, Bream £2.80 and both were a decent size.Will report on the quality of bass tonight when I've steamed it with ginger, spring onion, chili , soy and sesame.
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