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  • 2 days ago
Tempura rice bowl, also called tendon, is a Japanese donburi recipe that combines crispy tempura, warm steamed rice, and sweet savory tendon sauce in one satisfying bowl. Shrimp, fish, sweet potato, eggplant, kabocha, mushrooms, green beans, or shiso leaves are usually dipped in light tempura batter and fried until crisp and delicate. The sauce is made with dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, then simmered until slightly glossy so it can drizzle over the tempura and rice without making everything too heavy. The rice absorbs the extra sauce while the tempura adds crunch and rich flavor. The final tendon is comforting, flavorful, and easy to serve for lunch or dinner with miso soup, pickles, shredded cabbage, or simple Japanese side dishes.
Transcript
00:00If you love tempura, you're going to love this homemade tempura rice ball. Golden,
00:04crispy battered ingredients, all served over steaming rice and drizzled with a rich sweet
00:10savoury sauce. Let's get straight to it. First, I'm going to show you how to make a sweet and
00:15glossy tendon sauce. Start by taking a small saucepan and add 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce,
00:223 tablespoons of sake, 4 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar,
00:28and 1 teaspoon of dashi granules. Stir it well and bring it to a boil.
00:36We're going to let it bubble for about 3 minutes so that it becomes thick, glossy and coats the tempura
00:41rather than absorbing and making it soggy. My rice is currently cooking in the rice cooker and I've
00:48been chilling my tempura battered ingredients in advance, it's good to be organised for this recipe.
00:53Okay, this is looking good, so take it off the heat and set it aside to cool while we prepare
00:59the tempura.
01:00Start by heating your oil to 180 degrees Celsius or 356 degrees Fahrenheit. While it heats up,
01:07you can prepare your tempura ingredients. Make sure they're all washed, dried and cut, ready to fry.
01:14For this ten don, I'm using shrimp, lotus root, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, and shiso leaves. Feel free to use any
01:22of
01:22your favourite seafood or vegetables. I don't recommend this batter for chicken though,
01:27I have a separate recipe for chicken tempura if you're interested.
01:30Once your oil is hot, we can make the batter. 450 milliliters of chilled still water into a bowl
01:38and add one egg. Whisk until it becomes foamy,
01:45then scoop up the form and discard. This helps remove some of the egg white and makes the tempura
01:51crispy rather than fluffy. Next, add 100 milliliters of chilled sparkling water and then add the flour
02:00one third at a time. This is a mixture of 150 grams of cake flour and 30 grams of cornstarch
02:08that I
02:08mixed together and stored in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Mix it by drawing crosses in the mixture
02:15with upside down chopsticks. This helps prevent open mixing, which in return prevents gluten formation.
02:22This is key to making light and crispy tempura. If you want to learn more about tempura specifically,
02:28you can check out my tempura batter video.
02:43Once it looks like this, add a few ice cubes and use it straight away. Temporary batter should be used
02:50up as soon as possible. Cut your chosen ingredients with a thin layer of flour, dip them in the batter
02:57and then place them straight into the oil. I recommend cooking each ingredients in batches.
03:04The cooking time depends on the ingredients. Shrimp like this usually take about 3 minutes, but root
03:10vegetables like sweet potato or rancum take a little longer. And thin ingredients like shiso take less.
03:17Once the ingredients are crispy and lightly golden, move them to a wire rack so that excess oil can drain
03:24off.
03:24This is important because otherwise the oil will seep into your rice.
03:30I recommend using any leftover batter to make tempura flakes. Dip a whisk into the batter and
03:37sprinkle it over the oil. Break them up with chopsticks and fry until crispy, about 2 minutes.
03:44Since they're too small for the wire rack, transfer them to kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
03:51Finally, it's time to dish up. Divide your rice into serving balls and sprinkle the tempura flakes over
03:57the top. Drizzle with a bit of sauce before arranging the tempura over the top.
04:13Finally, add a generous coating of sauce. And that's it. Delicious homemade tendons that
04:23tastes like it came straight from a tempura restaurant. And great news, I've launched a free
04:29mobile app that makes following along with my recipes even easier. It's the perfect kitchen
04:34companion after watching my videos. You can access step-by-step instructions right on your phone
04:40while you cook. The download link is in the description below.
04:44Thank you for watching. If you want to access the written version of this recipe, it's on my blog.
04:49I'll put the link on the screen. And if you're interested in more about tempura batter,
04:54check out my tempura batter guide on the screen too. I hope to see you in the next video. Bye!
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