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1
Set up the frying vessel and bring the oil to 175–190 °C (350–375 °F). Prepare a wire rack over a tray to receive the fried pieces. Keep all ingredients dry and cold — patting the shrimp, fish, sweet potato slices, and green beans with paper towel until no surface moisture remains. The oil is ready when a drop of batter sinks slightly then rises immediately, trailing a clean sizzle.
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2
Make the batter immediately before frying. Combine the beaten egg and ice water in a cold bowl, retaining the ice cubes within the liquid. Add the sifted flour in one addition. Using chopsticks or a fork, stir with no more than ten to twelve strokes — the mixture must remain lumpy and barely combined, with streaks of dry flour still visible. This is the correct state. Over-mixing develops gluten and produces a heavy, bread-like coating; this is the step on which the dish lives or dies.
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3
Dust each piece lightly in plain flour and shake off the excess. Working in small batches — no more than four or five pieces at a time — dip each piece in the batter and lower immediately into the oil. Do not crowd the vessel. Fry shrimp 2–3 minutes, sweet potato 3–4 minutes, green beans 1–2 minutes, and fish 2–3 minutes. The crust is done when it is golden and lacy with a faint, dry crackle audible as the pieces move.
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4
Lift each piece with tongs or a spider and transfer immediately to the wire rack; do not stack. The finished crust should shatter on light pressure — a texture that is shatteringly light — while the interior remains tender. The ingredient itself, not the batter, should be the dominant flavour on the palate.