Book of Days Tales

Today is the feast day of Francis Xavier, one of the co-founders of the Jesuits and the leader of Portuguese missions into various parts of Asia including Goa in India, Borneo, and Japan.  He sailed to India in 1541 via the Cape of Good Hope and Mozambique, and from there spent over a decade conducting missionary journeys throughout SE Asia, coastal China and Japan.  He died on this date in 1552 on Shangchuan island off China.

Portuguese settlers brought a number of dishes to Asia, one of the most significant being batter dipped fried fish which the Japanese transformed into tempura.  The key to quality tempura is creating  the right batter.  Nowadays you can buy tempura batter mixes, which are excellent, or you can make a basic batter of flour and water.  The basic ingredients from scratch are:

• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
• 1 cold large egg
• 200 ml iced water

Mix the flour with a little water using chopsticks rather than a whisk, and then add the egg.  Do not beat the batter too much – just enough to combine the ingredients without enhancing gluten production.  It should have the consistency of heavy cream.

Next prepare your ingredients for frying.  Shrimp are common, but any firm fish cut into bite sized, bone free chunks will do.  You can also include any number of vegetables – lotus root, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, asparagus tips, etc. – cut into chunks, slices. or left whole, as long as the pieces are bite-sized..

Heat a neutral oil for deep frying in a wok to 320-350°F /160-180°C and try to maintain this temperature throughout the cooking process by not crowding the wok. Dip a few ingredients into the batter to coat and then immediately place them in the hot oil – gently.  Turn to cook evenly and remove to a wire rack with a wire ladle when they are golden on all sides.  Serve immediately with a dipping sauce of:

• ¾ cup (180 ml) dashi (Japanese soup stock)
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 2 tsp sugar

The best way to make tempura for guests is to have them all sit close to your stove so that you can serve the tempura as soon as it is cooked