This professional technique
Edo Heritage Vegetable Tempura
COOKING INGREDIENTS
This professional technique
FREE
Ingredients
- Quantities
Senju scallion
5 g
Komatsuna
10 g
Kanamachi turnip
1/2
Yanaka ginger
1 sprig
Maki-grade kuruma prawn
to taste
How to make Edo Heritage Vegetable Tempura
How to make Edo Heritage Vegetable Tempura
Cut the Senju negi (a prized Tokyo green onion variety) into extremely thin bamboo-leaf-style shreds, rinse in water, and fry it firmly, cracker-style, in the manner of a kakiage.
Bundle the stems of the komatsuna, wrap them in the leaves, band them with a strip of nori, dust with flour, fry, and serve with tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce).
Peel the skin of the Kanamachi turnip into a six-sided (hexagonal) shape, cut it in half, dust with flour, and fry it five to six parts of the way through; once fried, let it rest briefly, cut it in half again, and serve with salt and Kinzanji miso.
Prepare the Yanaka ginger as usual, peel it thickly, wrap the ginger in ground shrimp paste, dust with flour, and fry.
Want to check the seasoning blend before you cook?
COMMENT
Frying Senju leek hard is done to preserve its aroma and texture. It improves the texture and also brings out more sweetness. With Kanamachi turnip, frying it with the core left in keeps its sweetness intact. Eating it with salt or kinzanji miso brings out the sweetness even more, so please enjoy it the way you would a warm pickle. Yanaka ginger is wrapped in shrimp surimi so guests can enjoy the balance between the shrimp's sweetness and the ginger's bite.
This time I made a tempura built around a commitment to "Edomae". The hotel I work for promotes local production for local consumption, and we run fairs and similar events. We also offer a vegetable-only tempura course, which has been well received by guests. Senju leek is one of the Edo heritage vegetables grown in Senju, Tokyo, and there is even a market in Minami-Senju dedicated solely to leeks. Nowadays, production in Senju alone isn't enough to meet demand, so it seems the seeds are taken to other regions to be grown there as well. Komatsuna is not parboiled before frying. Unlike ohitashi, this lets guests enjoy its crisp, crunchy bite.