Washington Post Food and Dining editor Joe Yonan gives you a few simple rules to make frying less messy and scary. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

One of those meals that has been seared into my memory is a tempura dinner in Tokyo. It was in a tiny place, with just one cook behind the bar and six of us seated at it. He swooped one vegetable or piece of seafood after another through a batter, into a wok and onto our plates, seemingly that quickly. We ate one piece at a time, dipping each into a simple sauce that added a little saltiness and freshness to each bite, and finishing the mushroom cap or the shrimp or the lotus root before the chef made us another piece.

The most impressive thing was how shatteringly crisp and light the crust was not heavy or greasy in the slightest. Second most impressive was how the flavor of each item came through so strongly. Contrary to expectation, the breading seemed to accentuate, not overpower, the food.

Its surprising, given how often I mention this experience, almost 10 years after I lived it, that Ive only recently started making my own tempura at home. Im a member of the frequent-fryer club, so its not that Im worried, as too many cooks are, about heating up oil. I suppose Ive been intimidated by the precision of Japanese cooking; I had a sense that there was much more to tempura than it seemed, and I never went there.

What I needed, really, was a good guide, and I got one in the delightful Japanese Soul Cooking, by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat (Ten Speed Press, 2014). The book beautifully demystifies so much of Japanese cooking, reminding readers that at their heart, ramen, gyoza, tonkatsu and, yes, tempura are pure comfort food.

The book isnt vegetarian far from it but the instructions for vegetable tempura alone are worth the cover price. The most surprising tip: to barely (and I mean barely) mix the tempura batter, leaving lots of lumps and unblended flour in it, and to mix it up immediately before coating and frying. The goal, the authors write, is to keep the gluten from forming; its the same theory as trying not to overwork, say, biscuits or pie crust. The batters uneven consistency adds to its laciness upon frying, and keeping it cold with ice cubes makes it more viscous and therefore more likely to adhere to the vegetables.

And theres more. The point is to read every bit of instruction and to pay close attention. If you do, youll be able to produce tempura worthy of memories, too.

See the article here:
Weeknight Vegetarian: For frying at its best, learn the art and craft of tempura