Temple-Kitchen Vegetable Fry (精進揚げ, Shōjin-age)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy pot or deep fryer
• •Frying thermometer
• •Long cooking chopsticks or tongs
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Small dipping bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put the konbu, dried shiitake, and cold water in a pot and soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight in the refrigerator. The slow soak draws out depth gently, and the white bloom on the konbu is flavor, not dirt.

2. 2

   Finish the sauce

   Set the pot over low heat and warm it slowly. When small bubbles climb the sides and the water trembles, lift out the konbu before it boils. Simmer the shiitake 5 minutes longer, then strain. Add soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, warm just until the sugar dissolves, and keep the sauce hot at the edge of the stove.

   Boiled konbu gives a bitter, slick edge. The shiitake can take a short simmer, but the kelp cannot. Each ingredient has its manners.
3. 3

   Prepare vegetables

   Pat every vegetable dry, especially the lotus root and fresh shiitake. Water trapped on the surface makes the batter slide off and makes the oil spit. Keep slices thin and even so the centers cook before the coating darkens.

4. 4

   Heat the oil

   Pour oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat to 170 to 175 C, or 340 to 350 F. If you don't have a thermometer, drop in a little batter; it should sink halfway, then rise with lively small bubbles. Too cool and the coating drinks oil. Too hot and the outside browns before the vegetable sweetens.

5. 5

   Mix the batter

   Stir the flour and potato starch together, then add the ice-cold water all at once. Mix with chopsticks only until the dry flour mostly disappears. Leave small lumps. Cold, under-mixed batter gives a thin crisp coat; smooth batter is the cook trying too hard, a common human fault.

6. 6

   Dust and dip

   Lightly dust the vegetables with flour, shake off the excess, then dip each piece into the batter. The dusting gives the batter something to hold onto, like a dry hand taking a wet one. For the carrot and onion, mix small handfuls with a spoonful of batter to make loose kakiage fritters.

7. 7

   Fry in batches

   Fry only a few pieces at a time, keeping the oil between 170 and 175 C. Turn each piece once, and lift it when the coating is pale gold and the bubbling quiets, about 1 to 3 minutes depending on the vegetable. Crowding drops the oil temperature, and then the vegetables soak instead of fry.

8. 8

   Drain and serve

   Drain the fried vegetables upright on a rack or on crumpled paper, which keeps air around the coating. Serve at once with the warm konbu-shiitake dipping sauce, grated daikon, and ginger. Put only a restrained mound on each plate, with space around it, because fried food looks heavier the moment it is piled.

Chef Tips

• •Choose vegetables that are dry, firm, and at their prime. Kabocha and sweet potato bring sweetness, lotus root brings snap, shiitake brings depth, and shishito brings the green note that keeps the plate awake.
• •Keep the batter bowl cold by setting it over a larger bowl of ice if your kitchen is warm. Cold batter meeting hot oil is what makes the coating crisp and light.
• •Do not salt the fried vegetables before serving. Shōjin-age is eaten with tentsuyu, the dipping sauce, so seasoning the surface first makes the dish heavy and confused.
• •Use rice bran oil if you can. It has a clean taste and is common for Japanese frying. Canola or grapeseed is a sensible stand-in.
• •Fry the pale vegetables first and the sweet, starchy ones later. The oil stays cleaner, and the plate reads more quietly.

Advance Preparation

• •The konbu and dried shiitake can soak overnight in the refrigerator, which gives a rounder, calmer dashi.
• •The dipping sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before serving.
• •Vegetables can be sliced two hours ahead, covered, and kept cool. Pat them dry again just before dusting and frying.
• •Mix the batter only at the last moment. Once water meets flour, time begins working against lightness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)