For tonight’s dinner, my mother was in the mood for some shrimp so I threw together this little treat. It consisted of Shrimp Tempura with a wasabi/mustard sauce, what I am going to call “Kinpira Edamame” and sesame fried rice. Now the Shrimp Tempura probably doesn’t need too much explanation, though there are a few little extras tossed into the recipe for fun.

The rice is simply a standard sushi rice that is formed into square cross-sections, coated with toasted sesame seeds and then pan-fried. One of my favorite, traditional Japanese dishes is something called Kinpira Gobo which is made from match-stick cut carrots and gobo root (aka Burdock or Salsify) that is sauteed and then simmered in a base of dashi, tamari (or soy), mirin, and typically sugar. Tonight I took liberty in departing from that recipe by substituting the gobo with edamame, added scallions, swapped the sugar for honey and finished it by pureeing it.

I was quite pleased with the results and I believe I quelched my mother’s craving. The recipes are below and as always I would love to hear from you if you like the recipes and especially if you try them. I love to hear about peoples experiences with food. Eat well.

Shrimp Tempura with Wasabi/Mustard Sauce

ingredients:

16 large shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 egg

3/4 cup ice water

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 Tbls panko

1 tps fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp wakame (dried seaweed), ground

vegetable oil for frying

1 Tbls honey

1 Tbls stone-ground mustard (course deli-style)

2 Tbls dijon mustard

2 tsp prepared wasabi

1 Tbls grapeseed oil

1 Tbls rice vinegar

directions:

Clean and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Butterfly the shrimp and set on wax paper flattened, refrigerate for 1 hour. In a medium bowl combine flour, corn starch and white pepper. In a separate bowl whisk together egg and ice water. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture, whisking till somewhat smooth – there should still be some lumps. (Ice water can be substituted with cold soda water.) Place batter in refrigerator for 1 hour to set up.

Combine panko, ginger and wakame, set aside. Remove shrimp and tempura batter from refrigerator. Dip each shrimp into batter up to the tail, place on sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle panko, ginger, wakame blend on top of shrimp. Heat 3″ oil in wok, deep sauce pan or fryer to 350 degrees. Immerse shrimp, several at a time, into hot oil and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

For wasabi/mustard sauce, whisk together honey, stone-ground mustard, dijon mustard, wasabi, oil, and vinegar until smooth.

Sesame Fried Rice

ingredients:

1 cup Japanese rice (such as Nishiki)

1 3/4 cup water

2 Tbls sushi vinegar

1/4 cup sesame seeds

directions:

For microwave cooking. Place rice and water in large casserole dish, cover. Cook on high for 5 minutes, stir and then cook an additional 14 minutes at medium to medium-low power. Cook times and settings will vary between microwaves. When done add sushi vinegar and stir thoroughly to incorporate vinegar and loosen up rice.

Using sushi mat and plastic wrap, form rice into square sections (like maki rolls) and cut into 2 inch long pieces. Keep hands moistened with water while handling rice to minimize sticking. Coat outsides of rice with sesame seeds. Heat several Tbls grapeseed oil in non-stick fry pan over high heat and fry rice approximately 2-3 minutes per side, until light brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels.

“Kinpira Edamame”

ingredients:

1/2 cup edamame, shelled

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/4 cup scallions, diced

2 Tbls grapeseed oil

2 Tbls Dashi (Japanese soup base)

2 Tbls Tamari (or soy sauce)

2 Tbls honey

2 Tlbs mirin (or sake)

2 Tlbs water

1/4 tsp Nanami Togarashi (Japanese 7 spice powder)

1 tsp dark sesame oil

directions:

Heat grapeseed oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add edamame, carrots, scallions and sesame oil, cook until slightly softened. Combine remaining ingredients and whisk together and add to vegetables. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer till liquid is reduced by half and vegetables are soft. Add contents to blender, or use immersion blender and blend till smooth. Serve hot.

For garnishing: I had taken the green part of a scallion and sliced it lengthwise into thin strips and placed into ice cold water. To this I added celery that had been peeled into thin strips, using a vegetable peeler and cilantro leaves. The celery and scallions will form delicate coils in the ice water. Drain and then deep fry till lightly crispy.