"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
...
Thankyou - I tried a tempura again this evening and am currently devouring
it. It's better now that I have employed some of your hints, but still not
as I had aimed.
I had not before come across the idea of putting ice cold water in with
the
eggs; why ice cold? and why water? And why eggs, not egg yolks? The
Japanese
cookery book I was working to previously just says to mix eggs with flour.
I think you're right that a wok won't do it how I would like.


A wok should work fine--unless you are using an electric stove that's on the
weak side.

I think the problem is not enough oil (should be at least 4 cups) and the
temperature isn't high enough. Using more oil doesn't mean you are
ingesting more oil--you need a good amount just for temperature's sake.

Also, as others have mentioned, tempura isn't made with pork. That may be
why you are having problems, but I don't know, since I've never tried it
with pork.

As for the ice water stuff--you need a new Japanese cookbook if yours
doesn't mention it! If you live in North America, the December _Saveur_ has
a great article on tempura, including a recipe.

Peter

"Versy Tyle" wrote
I had not before come across the idea of putting ice cold water in with the
eggs; why ice cold? and why water?

The idea is that as the cold batter hits the oil, the air in it will
expand quickly thus making for a lighter result. With room temp water
it will not expand as fast. I've even seen a recipe asking for ice
cubes in the batter!

FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

"FreddieN" wrote in message =
news:Pjwpd.18680$Gw.7237@trndny09...
=20
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, =
and
not
like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it =
was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing =
them
all
apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think =
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way =
the
moment
I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy

=20
There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy =
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter =
make sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent =
Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura =
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura =
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food =
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried =
changes.
=20
=20

The above is absolutely correct.
But perhaps a thin slice pork tenpura might be worth trying.
Perhaps the strong pork flavor can be offset with a green shiso leaf
and fried together. Or maybe shredded shouga (ginger).Just playing with =
ideas.
In Kumamoto, Kyushuu I have eaten Tori-Ten(pura)which is
Chicken Tenpura. Completely different from the usual chicken
Kara-age/Tatsuta age.

Musashi

"FreddieN" wrote in message =
news:Pjwpd.18680$Gw.7237@trndny09...
=20
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, =
and
not
like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it =
was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing =
them
all
apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think =
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way =
the
moment
I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy

=20
There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy =
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter =
make sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent =
Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura =
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura =
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food =
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried =
changes.
=20
=20

The above is absolutely correct.
But perhaps a thin slice pork tenpura might be worth trying.
Perhaps the strong pork flavor can be offset with a green shiso leaf
and fried together. Or maybe shredded shouga (ginger).Just playing with =
ideas.
In Kumamoto, Kyushuu I have eaten Tori-Ten(pura)which is
Chicken Tenpura. Completely different from the usual chicken
Kara-age/Tatsuta age.

Musashi

That's a particularly helpful pst, Decay - thanks.
I notice youy just say eggs; should it include the egg white in your
opinion?

Thanks,
Versy

"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

That's a particularly helpful pst, Decay - thanks.
I notice youy just say eggs; should it include the egg white in your
opinion?

Thanks,
Versy

"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

Oh, and what 'sauce' is it you refer to? How do you make tempura sauce?
Thanks,
Versy
"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

Oh, and what 'sauce' is it you refer to? How do you make tempura sauce?
Thanks,
Versy
"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

What is it about ordinary chunks of diced pork that makes the batter fail?
Presumably a marinade would give the meat too much liquid. But what about
some dried spices?

Versy


"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

What is it about ordinary chunks of diced pork that makes the batter fail?
Presumably a marinade would give the meat too much liquid. But what about
some dried spices?

Versy


"decay" wrote in message
...
FreddieN wrote:
"Versy Tyle" wrote in message
news
Sorry if it's a FAQ, but how do you get tempura batter to be crisp, and

not

like an omlette hanging off your chunks of pork? I had believed it was,
possibly, the way I stored the morcels before serving; but spacing them

all

apart on a grill at moderate heat, is something that one would think
would
dry them out - but still I feel it's too soggy; it seems that way the

moment

I take them out of the (very hot) fat.
Thanks,
Versy



There is no such thing as Pork tempura in Japan.
There is Tonkatsu which is Pork cutlet with Panko,
but thats something else.
Consequently you're not going to get any really good info
from people who make "pork tempura".
Tempura batter is chilled usually with Ice to create the thin cripsy
batter
covering that tempura is famous for. After dipping into the batter make
sure
you don't have excess batter. A thin crust is a must for decent Tempura.
If you insist on using Pork make sure they are thin slices. Tempura
cooks
in a very short amount of time. People who know how to cook tempura
don't
even time it, they can tell by the change in the sound of the food
frying,
which occurs when the moisture content of the food being fried changes.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Pork tempura, how odd. But, I can
see it working if you slice it into thin julienned strips, or hammer it
out to tenderize it first.

Here's how I do tempura. Haven't done it in a couple years, so it's
rusty.

First, mix a spoon of baking poweder into around a cup or two of flour.
Also, if you have potato starch, add a few spoons. Potato starch
seems to help with the crispness. It's not critical, though.

Then, crack an egg over it, and add ice water. Stir it up a little bit,
but leave it very lumpy. Keep adding water until it's the consistency
of a thick soup or a moderately thin gravy. Then add a couple ice
cubes. The lumps, baking powder, and melting ice will leave the batter
inconsistent, and prone to "explode" in the oil, making for a crispier
shell of batter.

Also, the thinness of the batter is pretty important. You want the
batter to form a shell, not a blob or a capsule. Keep it thin.

Then, my favorite things to add to the batter are julienned carrots
(nowadays, they use a slice, but I like the old-school julinenned),
green beans (raw), cleaned and flattened shrimp, sliced mushroom, shiso
leaf, gobo root julienned.

I put more than one fritter's worth in there, and pull out a few with my
fingers. Chopsticks work too, but fingers are faster, and there's a
trick later. Anyway, I plop in three or four fritters at a time.

The oil is usually clean oil, because I do this infrequently.
Sometimes, I'll add a little old oil to get it to crisp up faster, but,
that can sometimes backfire, and the oil will go dirty too soon.

If the oil gets too dirty and "wears out," you have to pour some off and
add clean oil. The oil matters a lot, because it is part of the flavor
of the tempura. (Think about it.) There is a special kind of strainer
to scoop off the bits of dough, before they carbonize and pollute the
oil. (These bits are good on soup, or as an unhealthy snack.) A
slotted spoon can do in a pinch, but the strainer is good to own.

If you like a really elaborate fritter, with all kinds of spidery spikes
of fried dough on it, you can achieve this with a little daring move.
Dip your fingers in the batter, and sprinkle bits of batter onto the
fritters as they fry. The motion I use is "flicking a snot off the tip
of my thumb, but with more fingers."

Do not put your fingers into the oil. LOL.

Also, the last trick is to drain the tempura on a rack, on a warmed up
plate. You need to let the vegetables' steam escape and not mess up the
greasy, crispy, fried dough.

The final fritter I make is the chopped onion fritter. I just add
chopped green onions to the remaning batter, and then make onion
fritters. These are really good, and I prefer them to some of the real
tempura.

The tempura aesthetic is different from other kinds of fried foods.
It's about the balance of the batter, the ingredient, and the oil. It's
almost as if the ingredient is there, mainly, to flavor the batter, and
the batter is there to be flavored by the oil. Then, when the tempura
is dunked into the sauce, the oil and sauce mix into something that will
flavor the rice. Then, alla sudden, it's also about the quality of the
rice.

It's kind of like sushi. You start out thinking it's about the fish.
Then you realize it's really about the rice too, because bad rice can
ruin sushi. Then, you think you've got it understood, and you get
pickier about the fish, because, well, there are so few ingredients,
that every ingredient matters.

"Versy Tyle" wrote in message =
...
What is it about ordinary chunks of diced pork that makes the batter =
fail?
Presumably a marinade would give the meat too much liquid. But what =
about
some dried spices?
=20
Versy
=20

Probably because they are chunks, they retain too much moisture.
If you tried very thin slices of pork, it probably would work.
=20

"Versy Tyle" wrote in message =
...
What is it about ordinary chunks of diced pork that makes the batter =
fail?
Presumably a marinade would give the meat too much liquid. But what =
about
some dried spices?
=20
Versy
=20

Probably because they are chunks, they retain too much moisture.
If you tried very thin slices of pork, it probably would work.
=20

"Versy Tyle" wrote:
Oh, and what 'sauce' is it you refer to? How do you make tempura sauce?
[]
A basic tempura sauce would consist of one cup of dashi, 1/3 cup shoyu and
1/4 cup mirin, salt to taste. Because you're talking pork, you might prefer
a tonkatsu sauce, two teaspoons prepared mustard, 1/2 cup dashi, four
tablespoons shoyu and two tablespoons ketchup or fruit sauce.

--
Nick, Cogito, ergo armatum sum


Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops! You are not forgotten. Thanks.

"Versy Tyle" wrote:
Oh, and what 'sauce' is it you refer to? How do you make tempura sauce?
[]
A basic tempura sauce would consist of one cup of dashi, 1/3 cup shoyu and
1/4 cup mirin, salt to taste. Because you're talking pork, you might prefer
a tonkatsu sauce, two teaspoons prepared mustard, 1/2 cup dashi, four
tablespoons shoyu and two tablespoons ketchup or fruit sauce.

--
Nick, Cogito, ergo armatum sum


Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops! You are not forgotten. Thanks.