Kakiage (かき揚げ, mixed-vegetable tempura fritter)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep heavy pot or tempura nabe
• •Frying thermometer
• •Saibashi (long cooking chopsticks), or tongs and a fork
• •Flat metal ladle or wide slotted spoon for lowering each fritter
• •Abura-kiri oil-draining rack, or a wire rack set over a tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Make tentsuyu

   If you're serving tentsuyu, put the mirin in a small saucepan and simmer it for 30 seconds, just long enough to soften its alcoholic edge. Add the dashi and shōyu, warm until the surface just trembles, then take it off the heat. Boiling hard drives off the dashi's clean aroma, and this sauce is meant to sit beside the fritter, not smother it. If you don't have dashi ready, serve the kakiage with salt today.

   Salt is not a lesser choice. It keeps the fry crisp and lets the onion and mitsuba speak plainly.
2. 2

   Cut and dry

   Slice the onion into narrow arcs, cut the carrot into fine matchsticks, and cut the mitsuba into 1-inch lengths. If using shrimp, cut it small and pat it very dry. Matching the size matters because every piece must cook in the same few minutes; drying matters because water spits in the oil and makes batter slide off.

3. 3

   Heat the oil

   Pour oil 2 inches deep into a heavy pot and heat it to 340°F to 350°F. Set a rack over a tray before you begin. At this heat, the vegetables cook through while the batter crisps; lower oil makes the fritter drink oil, hotter oil browns the outside before the onion sweetens.

4. 4

   Mix cold batter

   Beat the cold egg lightly in a measuring cup, then add ice water to reach 1 cup total liquid. Pour it into a bowl, scatter in the chilled flour, and mix with chopsticks about ten strokes. Lumps are welcome. Cold, under-mixed batter keeps gluten from tightening, which is why good tempura feels crisp and light instead of bready.

   Make the batter only after the oil is ready. Once flour meets water, it begins to change, and kakiage rewards the cook who moves without fuss.
5. 5

   Bind the filling

   Toss the onion, carrot, mitsuba, and shrimp, if using, with the 2 tablespoons flour until the pieces look dusty. Add about 1/2 cup batter and fold gently, adding only a spoonful more if dry flour remains. The mixture should look barely bound, with vegetable edges still visible. Batter is glue here, not plaster.

   This is the detail that decides kakiage. Too much batter makes a pancake; just enough batter makes a clean fritter.
6. 6

   Fry the discs

   Place one quarter of the mixture on a flat metal ladle or wide slotted spoon, spread it into a loose 4-inch disc, and lower it to the oil's surface before sliding it in. Do not drop it from above; it will scatter and splash. Let it fry untouched for 90 seconds so the underside sets, then turn once and fry 1 to 2 minutes more, nudging any stray strands back with saibashi or tongs. The fritter is ready when the bubbles around it grow smaller and the edges are pale gold and crisp.

7. 7

   Drain and serve

   Lift the kakiage to the rack and hold it on its edge for a moment so oil runs off instead of settling inside. Salt it while the surface is still bright, or serve with warm tentsuyu and grated daikon in a small bowl. Don't stack the fritters; trapped oil softens the lace. Eat at once.

Chef Tips

• •Use the sweetest fresh onion you can find, and don't make a heroic pile of vegetables. Kakiage is a small thing. A crowded scoop cooks unevenly and turns heavy before the center is tender.
• •Mitsuba should smell green and clean when you cut it. If it's limp or tired, leave it out rather than frying a sad leaf and pretending the oil will forgive you.
• •The batter should look wrong to a nervous cook: lumpy, cold, and scant. That's correct. Smooth batter is usually overworked batter, and overworked batter fries bready.
• •For a meatless table, leave out the shrimp and make tentsuyu with konbu and dried shiitake dashi. That is honmono, the way temple kitchens build depth without bonito.
• •If your oil drops below 325°F, pause between batches. The pause feels fussy until you taste the difference: clean edges instead of oil-heavy ones.

Advance Preparation

• •Dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Use it for tentsuyu, or save the kakiage for a salt serving if you have no dashi ready.
• •Tentsuyu keeps 3 days refrigerated. Warm it gently before serving, and don't boil it hard.
• •The onion and carrot can be cut up to 4 hours ahead and kept wrapped in a dry towel in the refrigerator. Cut the mitsuba close to frying so it stays clean and green.
• •Do not mix the batter in advance. Make it only after the oil is hot, because flour left in water loses the lightness you need.
• •Fried kakiage is best immediately. If you must hold it for a short time, keep it on a rack in a low oven and never stack the fritters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)