Kakiage — Mixed Tempura Fritter

Ingredients

• 200 g sakura ebi (dried cherry blossom shrimp), patted bone-dry
• 100 g mitsuba, stems and leaves cut to 3–4 cm lengths
• 100 g corn kernels, fresh or frozen; thawed and patted bone-dry
• 100 g edamame, shelled, patted bone-dry
• For the batter
• 150 g tempura flour
• 15 g potato starch, increases binding without weight
• 200 ml ice-cold water, used immediately
• 1 litre neutral frying oil, e.g. vegetable or sunflower

Method

1. 1
   Ensure every ingredient is bone-dry before beginning. Pat sakura ebi, mitsuba, corn, and edamame individually with kitchen paper. Any surface moisture will cause steaming rather than frying. The cook knows this step is complete when no paper shows wet transfer.
2. 2
   Bring the frying oil to 180–185 °C in a deep, heavy pan — slightly higher than standard tempura temperature. Confirm with a thermometer or by dropping a thread of batter: it should sink briefly, then rise and crisp within two seconds. Cold oil produces greasy, sodden kakiage.
3. 3
   Combine the tempura flour and potato starch in a cold bowl. Add the ice-cold water all at once and mix with a few strokes only — lumps are acceptable and desirable. The batter should be slightly thicker than standard tempura batter: it must coat and bind the ingredients but remain translucent. Over-mixing develops gluten and produces a doughy crust.
4. 4
   Add all prepared ingredients to the batter and fold briefly so each piece is lightly coated. The mixture should appear loosely bound — individual pieces still visible through the batter — not submerged in it. This is where the dish lives or dies: too much batter and the kakiage becomes a dense doughy mass; too little and the fritter will not hold. The batter should just draw the ingredients together.
5. 5
   Working in batches of no more than two fritters at a time, scoop a portion of the mixture onto a flat spoon or spatula and slide it from a low angle directly onto the oil surface. Do not move the kakiage for 30–40 seconds. The fritter will set and hold its form; the edges will begin to turn opaque and pale gold. Moving it before this point will break it apart.
6. 6
   Once set, turn the kakiage once and fry until the exterior is an even pale gold and audibly crisp — a light, dry crackling sound when tapped with chopsticks or a skimmer. Total frying time is approximately 2–3 minutes per batch. Do not crowd the pan: excess fritters drop the oil temperature, producing steam rather than a fry.
7. 7
   Lift each kakiage and hold briefly over the pan to shed excess oil, then drain on a rack — not on paper — for at least 60 seconds. Kakiage retains more interior moisture than flat tempura pieces and must drain thoroughly; oil will pool beneath a fritter set directly on paper. The surface should feel dry and rigid to the touch before serving.