Tendon (天丼, tempura over rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tempura nabe, or a heavy Dutch oven
• •Frying thermometer
• •Long cooking chopsticks, or tongs
• •Abura-kiri draining rack, or a wire rack set over a tray
• •Deep donburi bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for two or three minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine sieve and let it drip naturally.

   Boiled konbu turns the stock bitter and slick, and squeezed bonito flakes press out oily strength. You're guarding clarity, even though this dashi will become a dark sauce.
2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Rinse the short-grain rice until the water runs almost clear, then cook it so it finishes before you fry. Hot rice catches the tare and stays tender under the tempura. Cold rice makes the bowl feel divided, as if the top and bottom were introduced too late.

3. 3

   Simmer the tare

   Combine 3/4 cup dashi, shoyu, mirin, and sugar in a small pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until glossy and lightly thickened. It should taste a little too salty and sweet on its own. That is correct. Rice and crust will soften it.

   The tare must cling without soaking. Thin sauce runs straight through the crust; thick sauce sits heavily on top. Aim for the shine of lacquer on a spoon.
4. 4

   Prepare the toppings

   Pat the shrimp and vegetables very dry. Make two or three shallow cuts across the underside of each shrimp, then press it gently straight with your fingers. This keeps the shrimp from curling hard in the oil and helps it cook evenly. Slice dense vegetables thin, about 1/4 inch for kabocha or lotus root, so the crust and center finish together.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a tempura nabe or heavy pot, adding the toasted sesame oil if using. Heat to 170 to 180 C, or 340 to 355 F. A drop of batter should sink slightly, then rise with small lively bubbles. If it browns at once, the oil is too hot. If it lies there sulking, wait.

6. 6

   Mix the batter

   Stir the egg yolk into the ice-cold water, then add the cold flour and mix with chopsticks only a few strokes. Leave lumps. Smooth batter is not a virtue here. The cold water slows gluten, and the loose mixing keeps the coating light instead of breadlike.

   Make the batter only when the oil is ready. Tempura batter waits badly, and it grows heavier while it stands.
7. 7

   Fry the tempura

   Dust each piece lightly with flour, shake off the excess, dip into the batter, and lower it into the oil away from you. Fry vegetables first, then shrimp, working in small batches so the oil stays lively. Turn once, and lift each piece when the crust is pale gold and crisp, usually 1 to 2 minutes for shrimp and shishito, 2 to 3 minutes for kabocha, eggplant, shiitake, or lotus root. Drain on a rack, not on paper pressed tight against the crust.

   The dusting flour gives the batter something to hold. Crowding drops the oil temperature and makes the coating drink oil, which is the opposite of tempura.
8. 8

   Assemble the bowls

   Divide the hot rice between two warm donburi bowls and spoon a little tare over the rice first. Quickly dip the top side of each tempura piece in the tare, or brush it lightly, then arrange two shrimp and several vegetables over each bowl with a little height. Serve at once, while the edges are still crisp and the bottom rice has begun to drink.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for shrimp that smell clean and sweet, with firm flesh and no sour edge. If the shrimp aren't good, make yasai tendon, vegetable tendon, with seasonal vegetables and konbu-shiitake dashi. That's honmono too, not a consolation prize.
• •Use real dashi for the tare. Powder gives salt and a flat bonito taste, while fresh dashi gives the sauce its clean backbone. In tendon the sauce is small, so every spoonful has to work.
• •Keep the batter bowl cold, and don't admire your frying too long. Tempura is best in the first minutes after it leaves the oil, before the crust relaxes.
• •Do not pour the tare over the whole bowl as if correcting a mistake. Brush or dip the pieces lightly, then season the rice beneath. The crust matters more than the count.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The tare can be simmered up to 5 days ahead. Warm it gently before using so it brushes cleanly over the tempura.
• •The shrimp and vegetables can be trimmed a few hours ahead, then kept covered and dry in the refrigerator. Pat them dry again before dusting.
• •Do not make the batter ahead, and do not fry the tempura ahead. That last-minute work is the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 540g)