Niki's Lacy Tempura

Moo, Niki and I worked hard to create a tempura recipe that would enable us to create a light and lacy tempura. We experimented with many ingredients, temperatures and combinations. This is one of our better creations. Great with shrimp and vegetables.

1 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and flattened
2 eggs
1 cup very cold water
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
10 ice cubes
4 T very cold water
Olive oil

Tempura Dipping Sauce #1
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
Sprinkle a little minced ginger on each individual bowl of dipping sauce

Dipping Sauce #2 (not traditional but very good)
1 T dry mustard
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T water

Once you have cleaned and prepared the shrimp, store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook. To make the batter, beat eggs with very cold water. Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat this mix into the liquid (this is not a lumpy batter). Because you want the batter to be very cold when you drip shrimp and/or vegetables into the hot oil, add 10 ice cubes to the batter and set the batter bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice.

Pour enough olive oil into a sauce pan to deep fry shrimp. Heat oil to 375 degrees. And it will be important for you to maintain a steady heat.

With your left hand dip into the lace batter and shake it into the hot oil. With right hand, dip a cold shrimp into the main batter and roll it onto the lace. Cook until golden

For lace, place 1 cup of batter into a smaller bowl. Stir in 4 T of very cold water.

Moo's Oyako Donburi

After years of Chinese cooking lessons, Moo started experimenting with Japanese. She had a lot of fun and shared several of her dishes with me. Here's a palate pleaser of a side dish.

8 large scallions, slivered
A knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
6 peapods, strings removed, sliced
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T mirin
4 T soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 pkgs udon noodles
4 eggs

Mix chicken broth, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Prepare scallions, ginger, and peapods. Stir fry in olive oil. Add sauce to vegetables. Mix thoroughly. Cut noodles into bite-size pieces an add to the vegetable mixture. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs. Add to the mixture and turn until scrambled. Serve with a meat, seafood or chicken dish.

Moo's Cold Stuffed Sushi Clams

Moo served these as either hors d'oeuvres or as part of a selection of sushi. The number of clams you'll need to prepare will depend on how you plan to use this dish.

Seasoned sushi rice
Little neck clams
Japanese rice vinegar
wasabi

Use your best recipe to make a batch of seasoned sushi rice. Steam little neck clams. Remove clam meat from shell, keeping clams intact. Clean shells because you are going to use them to serve these little treats. Moisten hands with a little Japanese rice vinegar. Pick up a small portion of sushi rice and press into a ball. Set rice in a clam shell half. Dab a little wasabi on top and add a clam. If you wish, place the other half of the clam shell on top. Serve soon after making and at room temperature.

Moo's Lemon Soy Dipping Sauce

Another of Moo's palate pleaser dipping sauces. This one is perfect for Japanese dumplings like gyoza and for tempura.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T Mirin
3 T water
2 T rice vinegar
1 T bonito flakes

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, cover and steep for 2-3 hours. Strain and serve.