Morel Mushroom Tempura
These crispy morel nuggets will change the way you think about springs most popular fungus.
Try this tempura batter recipe out with any vegetables or seafood you desire!
This dipping sauce is a riff on the classic tempura dipping sauce; Tentsuyu.
I add ramps to add a specific spring garlic flavor to this dipping sauce. Spice it up with chili oil or hot sauce for an extra kick!
Disclaimer: Chefs in Japan spend many years perfecting the craft of frying tempura. Similar to the art of making sushi, tempura isnt something that anyone can master overnight. If your results aren’t as crispy as you’d like, make sure you’re following all my tips below, and give it another go! All these variables need to be controlled and aligned to yield super crispy tempura! Serve immediately after frying!
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
Canola Oil for deep frying
1/2 lb morel mushrooms, soaked in water and thoroughly rinsed/dried
1 cup cake flour (Subsitute AP flour if you must, cake flour has lower protein content and therefore less gluten) 50 % cornstarch and 50% AP Flour(or rice flour) will also yield crispy tempura
1 cup ice cold soda water, add ice cubes 5-10 minutes prior to mixing batter
1 egg, beaten
DIRECTIONS:
Prepare your mushrooms or other veggies for frying (sweet potato/lotus root/carrot/zucchini/eggplant all work great). After cleaning your veggies, make sure they are thoroughly dried before frying.
If you haven’t already; place a few ice cubes into your soda water, then place in fridge. Also set 2 small/medium mixing bowls in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
Prepare deep frying oil by adding enough canola oil to heavy bottomed pot. Oil should only come up about 2-3 inches from the bottom of the pot. To prevent spilling, do not ever fill a pot more than half way with oil.
Place oil over low-medium heat, and allow temperature to rise to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Monitor temperature of oil frequently with instant-read thermometer. This will take about 15 minutes. Don’t mix your batter until your oil reaches 350 F!
Once your oil is at temp, mix your batter. In a chilled bowl, combine flour, cold soda water, and egg. Stir gently, using chopsticks or fork, for only 30 seconds. Clumps are ok and will help keep batter crispy! Do not over-mix tempura! More mixing = More gluten which creates soggy results! Batter consistency should be thin, similar to crepe batter, or heavy cream.
Once your batter is ready, place the entire bowl over a second bowl that contains ice water. This will keep your batter very cold!
Add 3 cubes ice to your completed batter.
Check temperature of oil again with thermometer to verify oil is at 350F.
Add mushrooms to tempura batter to coat. Frying several pieces at time, carefully add mushrooms directly from batter to hot oil.
Stir/flip mushrooms if you notice they are sticking together or one side is getting more color than the other. After about 1-2 minutes, carefully remove mushrooms from the oil using a slotted spoon. Place directly on wire rack to allow excess oil to drain. Season lightly with kosher salt.
Serve immediately with Tentsuyu dipping sauce.
For Ramp Tentsuyu dipping sauce:
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dashi/stock/water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp ramps, tops and bottoms, sliced thin (substitute green onion, chive, or anything you’d like to enhance this traditional dipping sauce)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat all ingredients and stir until combined. Serve cold.
TEMPURA TIPS AND ESSENTIALS:
The key point of crispy tempura is in its batter. When gluten forms in the batter, it will not be super crispy. So we need to make the batter carefully by following these tips.
Use icy cold soda water when mixing water and flour. Before you begin mixing the batter, add some ice cubes directly into the soda water and let it sit in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
The batter MUST stay cold at all times. Before mixing batter, place two similarly sized mixing bowls directly into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. Once batter is mixed, set a bowl of ice water directly underneath bowl holding your batter to keep mixture as cold as possible. Also toss a couple ice cubes into your completed tempura batter. All this ice and cold temperature may seem excessive but it is crutial to allow the batter to stick more effectively to your ingredients before frying.
Do not stir the mixture too much to avoid gluten forming. It is even best to leave some flour powdery crumbs in the batter. Use chopsticks or a butter knife to stir the batter and prevent over-mixing.
