Ebi Fry (エビフライ, panko-fried prawns)

Fried prawns make nervous cooks stand very solemnly over a pot of oil, as if the prawns were taking an examination. They aren't. Ebi fry is yōshoku, Western-style food that Japan took in and made plain: a sweet prawn, a light coat of flour, egg, and panko, and sauce kept on the side.

The one detail that decides it happens before the breading. Clean the prawn, dry it well, cut shallow notches along the belly, then press it straight until you feel the little give in the muscle. It will want to curl in hot oil because the proteins tighten. You've simply taught it another posture. Trim the watery tail tip too, unless you enjoy oil answering back. A kitchen should have some dignity.

Freshness comes first. The prawns should smell clean and faintly sweet, never sharp, and the flesh should feel firm, not slack. If what you bought is tired, don't bury it under tartare. Cook another dish. With good prawns, the panko only protects what is already there: crisp outside, sweet inside, nothing hidden.

On the table, ebi fry sits easily with shredded cabbage, rice, and miso soup, the yōshoku plate settling into the Japanese meal without fuss. Serve an odd number on the plate if you can, with the sauce beside it and a little empty space around the prawns. Leave it room. Even fried food should know how to behave.