May 11, 2011

Tempura Making/天ぷら作り

On May 9, I decided to make tempura for supper. I first made tentsuyu (dipping sauce for tempura) well in advance, at around two o'clock in the afternoon, by combining dashi, soy sauce, and mirin at a ratio of 5:1:1.
昨日は夕飯に天ぷらを作ることにしました。まず、前もって午後2時頃、出汁、しょう油、みりんを5:1:1の割合で混ぜて、天つゆを作りました。
Thus,
800 ml dashi (800 ml water + 1.3 tsp instant dashi)
160 ml soy sauce
160 ml mirin
I used mirin-like seasoning, not real mirin (which contains alcohol), so I just brought the mixture to a boil, turned off the heat, and let it cool.
If you use mirin, you first evaporate the alcohol by boiling for some time.

Note: A ratio of 4:1:1 is more common.
よって、
出汁 800 ml(水800 mlに出汁の素小さじ1.3)
しょう油 160 ml
みりん 160 ml
本当のみりん(アルコールが含まれる)ではなく、みりん風調味料を使ったので、混ぜたものを沸騰させ、火を止め、冷ましただけです。
みりんを使うなら、最初にしばらく沸騰させアルコールを蒸発させてください。

注: 4:1:1という割合のほうが一般的です。

Main ingredients for tempura (tane or tendane):
天ぷらの主な具材(たね、天だね):
The sansai (edible wild plant) in the upper right corner is kogomi or kogome (ostrich fern fiddlehead). Luckily, I found kogomi sold at a low price, 98 yen a pack, and I just had to buy two! All my family love kogomi! The sansai in the lower right corner is yomogi (mugwort), which I picked up in my yard.
右上の山菜はこごみ(こごめ)です。運良く安く(1パック98円)売っていたので、2パック買いました。家族全員、こごみは大好きです。右下の山菜は、庭で採った、よもぎです。

Cut each sweet potato crosswise or diagonally into 1-cm rounds, soak in cold water for at least 5 min., and drain.
サツマイモは横または斜めに切って、1センチの輪切りにし、冷水に5分以上漬け、水を切ります。
I usually have tempura with soba (buckwheat noodles), and that night's supper was no exception.
私は普通、天ぷらは蕎麦(そば)と一緒に食べます。昨日の夕飯も例外ではありません。

Tempura pot with canola oil in it:
キャノーラ油を入れた天ぷら鍋:
I measured the depth of the oil, and it was about 4 cm.  I think that 5 cm is usually considered a minimum depth, and I'd say that 3 cm is a bare minimum.
油の深さを測ると、約4センチでした。普通、5センチが最低の深さだと考えられていると思います。最低でも3センチは必要でしょう。

I don't like to use sesame oil to make tempura because of its distinctive flavor.  Besides, sesame oil is very expensive!
私はごま油は独特な味なので、天ぷらを作るのに使うのは好きではありません。それにごま油はとても高価なので。

To be continued.
I've been rather busy these days, and I have to write about tempura making in several separate parts.
続く。
この頃忙しく、天ぷら作りに関して幾つかに分けて書きます。

5 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to read the rest of your tempura recipe. Until now I have been making only asparagus tempura (it's the season here and I feel like I could have asparagus every day) and I will be very happy to learn from you how to prepare other ingredients. Can you imagine I have never cooked sweet potatoes in my life?
    (By the way, thank you for the visit and the kind comment on my blog, it cheered me up this morning!).

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  2. Strange, are there are some transcontinental mind links possible? Today, during lunch break, I visited an asia food market near my workplace and bought tempura batter mixture, o-sake, sweet potatoes, soba. Guess what I am going to cook tomorrow? I can't believe it.
    I am going to use green and white asparagus too (prizes dropped quite nicely). I have never picked fresh mugwort before (and we have lots of it growing wild around here), only the dried herb for the traditional goose seasoning. Hope you will find some spare time to inform us.

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  3. Kiki, you have just made me realise that mugwort is not a strictly Japanese plant. I have checked on internet: it grows everywhere! I live a bit far from the forest, so am not sure if I can pick it one day...
    You really must communicate with Hiroyuki through telepathy :-)

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  4. Sissi: Imo ten (sweet potato tempura) is a must in my tempura meal!

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  5. Kiki: But it isn't that we made tempura on the same day, right (laugh)?
    I am very sorry I could not make fukinoto (butterbur sprout) tempura. Fukinoto is now out of season.

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