Tempura pancakes

[marmalady]

This is a 'homestyle' tempura I learned to make from a Japanese friend - it's neat, because unlike usual tempura where the ingredients are all fried separately, these are mixed together and cooked like a pancake, so the cook can sit and eat with everyone else!

Note - these amounts are approximate - it's a 'touchy, feely' kind of recipe.

1 cup grated carrot
1 cup green beans, sliced very thinly
1/2 cup scallions, green and white parts, sliced very thinly
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup rice flour or cornstarch
1 egg
Ice water
salt, pepper

Put the veg in a bowl, add flours, salt and pepper, and toss together. Beat egg and add, and start adding ice water til you get a batter that's just a little thinner than regular pancake batter. It should be thick, but still come off the spoon.

Heat about 1/2 inch of veggie oil - NOT olive! - in a large skillet on medium high, place batter by tablespoonfuls in oil, and flatten a little with the spoon. Cook on one side til golden brown, and then flip over and cook other side. These can be drained and placed on a cookie sheet in a warm oven if you're making a large batch.

Serve with a sauce made of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a little sugar and lemon juice.

Note - you can also add little pieces of chopped shrimp to this.

[Piccolina]

Looks lovely Marm, I really like the fact that the batter doesn't require any carbonated products (soda water, beer, etc). Thanks for sharing, I may make this over the holidays, especially since I just bought a new big bag of rice flour to get me through the winter

[Alix]

Thanks marmalady, I am saving this one to try tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes.

[ironchef]

If you add diced scallop or shrimp to this you have kakiage tempura

[Constance]

There used to be a fabulous Japanese restaurant in south St. Louis called "Mikada". Could still be there, I don't know. We went there in the 70's.

We had to take our shoes off at the front door, and were led to a private cubicle with bamboo walls, and served by Japanese ladies dressed as Geishas. No forks were provided, but we were shown how to use chopsticks.

They served a wonderful tempura with all sorts of lovely vegetables...carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet peppers, and shrimp. The vegies must have been blanched a bit, I think as they were just crisp/tender, and the batter was so light the goodies almost floated off the plate. I never managed to duplicate it, and now I seldom fry anything.
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I also enjoyed the warm saki. That stuff makes you feel good all the way down to your toes.

[marmalady]

Domo arigato, Ironchef - I could not remember the name of them for the life of me!