Cocina Recipe: Shrimp Tempura with a Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008
From Maricel E. Presilla's Cocina
MAIN DISH
SHRIMP TEMPURA WITH A
CREAMY CHIPOTLE SAUCE
I use a batter recipe from Kuwako Takahashi's The Joy of Japanese Cooking (Tuttle, 2002), an excellent cookbook. To achieve a lacy, light crust that does not absorb too much oil, keep the batter ingredients very cold and mix them lightly. Keep the oil at a constant temperature of 350 to 355 degrees, and fry the shrimp just briefly.
Traditional tempura is not seasoned because it is served with a flavorful dipping sauce. For a Latin touch, I season the raw shrimp with crushed garlic and ground hot peppers. My chipotle-spiked dipping sauce is inspired by a recipe in celebrated chef Nobu Matsuhisha's Nobu Now (Clarkson Potter, 2004).
Serve the tempura as an appetizer or as main course with rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles, paired with ice cold Japanese or Peruvian Cuzqueña beer or an elegant sake like Fukucho ''Moon on the Water'' from Hiroshima.
THE SAUCE
• 1 cup mayonnaise (homemade or purchased)
• 1 can chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Juice of 1 lime
• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
THE SHRIMP
• 1 pound medium shrimp
• 3 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with mortar and pestle (optional)
• Ground Andean pepper (panca or mirasol) or cayenne (optional)
• Salt (optional)
• 1 large egg, cold from the refrigerator
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 1 ¼ cups low gluten flour (like cake flour), sifted
• Abundant vegetable oil
• Lime wedges
Sauce: Place the mayonnaise in a blender or food processor and add the chipotle, garlic, cumin, lime and salt. Process into a creamy sauce. (Makes about 1 cup.) Refrigerate until ready to use.
Shrimp: Peel shrimp, leaving the tail and last section of the shell in place; rinse and pat dry. Make three incisions along the joints on the curved side of each shrimp to keep it from curling during frying. If desired, toss with the garlic and hot pepper and salt to taste. Refrigerate.
Batter: Add the egg and cold water to a cold medium bowl and mix lightly with chopsticks or a whisk. Add the flour and mix briefly to make a thin but lumpy batter. You should see flour on the edge of the bowl. Refrigerate.
Cooking: Heat at least 3 inches of oil in a heavy saucepan to 350 to 355 degrees. Dip shrimp in batter, one at a time, and slide into the hot oil. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes, taking care not to crowd the pan. Let drain on paper towels.
Serve immediately, piping hot, with the sauce, some coarse sea salt and lime wedges. Makes 4 to 6 main-dish servings.
Per serving: 689 calories (62 percent from fat), 47.4 g fat (5.6 g saturated, 7.9 g monounsaturated), 257.7 mg cholesterol, 29.8 g protein, 35.9 g carbohydrates, 1.7 g fiber, 645.8 mg sodium.
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Not a registered user? It's Free!
Register here. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
