Authentic Tendon Recipe Japan, Asia
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Introduction & history
Tendon is a simple Japanese rice dish from a large donburi group, which combines cooked or steamed rice topped with seafood and vegetables deep-fried in tempura batter, and drizzled with a special, sweet-savory tentsuyu sauce. All the ingredients are served in a single bowl, and the preparation starts with cooking or steaming the rice, usually the short-grained varieties with a slightly sticky texture. Next, the tentsuyu sauce is prepared by boiling Japanese fish stock dashi, rice wine mirin, soy sauce, and sugar, and simmering until slightly thickened. The final and the most sensitive step is the tempura. The shrimps or prawns are shelled and deveined, while the vegetables are cut into thin slices. After being sprinkled with flour, the tempura ingredients are dipped in a batter which usually consists of tempura flour, water and, sometimes, egg. It is essential that both the tempura ingredients and the batter are ice-cold ... Read more
Cooking tips
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seafood
Tendon is most commonly made with king or tiger prawns or shrimps (ebi). Remove the head, peel the shell, and leave the tail on, but cut off the sharp ends and squeeze gently with the dull edge of the knife to remove the water. This way, the shrimps will not splatter while being deep-fried. Remove the vein from the back of each shrimp using a toothpick or a metal skewer. Then, make small cuts on the ... Read more -
vegetables
The choice of vegetables for tempura is endless: Japanese eggplants (aubergine) called nasu, lotus root, shiitake, oyster, and maitake mushrooms, shiso leaves, sweet potato, asparagus, pumpkin, kabocha squash, and daikon radish are among the most common options. All the vegetables, except for the mushrooms, need to be washed and dried thoroughly, and cut into slices thin enough to cook quickly. Some ... Read more -
flour
You can use specialized, low-gluten tempura flour or regular all-purpose flour for the tempura batter. It is advisable to sift and even to cool the flour before preparing the batter. Starch, baking powder, or bicarbonate soda can sometimes be added to the flour. -
eggs
Some tempura batter recipes suggest using eggs or egg yolks, while some omit them completely. Using eggs is a matter or personal preference. -
tempura batter
The most important thing before preparing the tempura batter is to cool all the ingredients as much as possible, even the flour. The water needs to be ice-cold, and most recipes suggest a 1:1 flour to water ratio. Prepare the batter right before frying, and adjust its thickness by adding water or flour. Mix the batter with chopsticks shortly and gently. Prolonged mixing causes the gluten in the flour ... Read more -
frying oil
Specialized tempura restaurants use a special oil blend. For an at-home preparation, mix vegetable oil with some sesame oil to enhance the flavor. -
frying
Tempura should be deep-fried in small batches. The temperature of the oil should be between 160 and 180˚C. Since cold batter ingredients will lower the oil temperature, heat the oil to 180 to 185˚C first, and then start frying. Do not overheat the oil, because it will cook the batter too fast, while the vegetables might not cook fully. Ideally, use a cooking thermometer to make sure the oil is at ... Read more -
tentsuyu
Also known as tempura sauce or tendon sauce, this simple, umami-tasting dressing is a combination of fish stock dashi, rice wine mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Dashi is an all-purpose stock which serves as a base ingredient for a wide array of Japanese dishes. It is made by boiling water with some of the following: dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi), dried baby sardines (niboshi), dried kelp (kombu),... Read more
Recipe variations
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Simple Tendon
Ready in 30minThis recipe was adapted from the book Donburi: Delightful Japanese Meals in a Bowl by Aki Watanabe, a professional chef and cooking and baking instructor. King prawns, shiitake mushrooms, aromatic shiso leaves, and Japanese aubergine are deep-fried once dipped in tempura batter made with egg yolks, baking soda, and all-purpose flour, which is easier to find than the specialized tempura flour. The dish is topped with dark, flavorful sauce and will serve as a light but filling meal for two people.
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Classic Tendon
Ready in 30minKing prawns, aubergine, renkon lotus root, and mushrooms are the main tempura ingredients of this tendon recipe, adapted from japancentre.com, the website and online store of Japan Center, the Japanese food hall in operation since 1976, located in London. It suggests making the batter only with specialized tempura flour and ice-cold water, which makes the tempura extra light and crispy.
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Tendon with Shrimp, Sweet Potato, Maitake Mushrooms, Asparagus and Eggplant
Ready in 35minThis recipe was adapted from a popular Japanese YouTube channel Cooking With Dog, with over 1,6 million subscribers. The tempura includes shrimp and various vegetables deep-fried in a simple tempura batter, which are then served over a bowl of rice and drizzled with tempura sauce.
Simple Tendon
PREP 20min
COOK 10min
READY IN 30min
This recipe was adapted from the book Donburi: Delightful Japanese Meals in a Bowl by Aki Watanabe, a professional chef and cooking and baking instructor. King prawns, shiitake mushrooms, aromatic shiso leaves, and Japanese aubergine are deep-fried once dipped in tempura batter made with egg yolks, baking soda, and all-purpose flour, which is easier to find than the specialized tempura flour. The dish is topped with dark, flavorful sauce and will serve as a light but filling meal for two people.
Ingredients
Simple Tendon
6 king tiger prawns
1/2 Japanese eggplant
2 shiitake mushrooms
2 shiso leaves
vegetable oil for deep frying
vegetable oil for deep frying
TEMPURA BATTER
1 egg yolk
150-180 ml iced water
100 g all-purpose flour
100 g all-purpose flour
TEMPURA SAUCE
100 ml dashi (Japanese stock)
2 tbsp koikuchi (dark) soy sauce
35 ml mirin
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
Preparation
Simple Tendon
First, shell and devein the prawns, but leave the tails intact. Then, press each prawn with the dull edge of the knife to squeeze out excess moisture. To prevent the prawns from curling during frying, make three small incisions on the bottom side of each prawn, and then press to straighten. Finally, dry with kitchen paper.
Cut 1/2 of the Japanese eggplant in two. Then, make several cuts on each piece to form a fan. Wash in cold water and dry.
Clean the shiitake mushrooms and remove the stems.
Wash and dry the shiso leaves.
Now, make the tempura batter. First, combine iced water and an egg yolk in a small bowl. Sift the flour and the bicarbonate of soda into the mixture. Stir with chopsticks gently and quickly. Place the bowl with the tempura batter into another, larger bowl filled with ice-cold water to keep the batter cool. If the batter is too thick, add more water. If it is too runny, add flour.
In a deep frying pan, heat the vegetable oil to 170˚C. Sprinkle the tempura ingredients – prawns, eggplants, shiitake, and shiso leaves – with flour, and then dip them into the batter.
Deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crispy, then drain on kitchen paper.
In a small saucepan, heat dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir in the bonito flakes and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
To serve, divide the steamed rice between two donburi bowls, arrange tempura on top, and drizzle with sauce.
Other Variations
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Classic Tendon
Ready in 30minKing prawns, aubergine, renkon lotus root, and mushrooms are the main tempura ingredients of this tendon recipe, adapted from japancentre.com, the website and online store of Japan Center, the Japanese food hall in operation since 1976, located in London. It suggests making the batter only with specialized tempura flour and ice-cold water, which makes the tempura extra light and crispy.
-
Tendon with Shrimp, Sweet Potato, Maitake Mushrooms, Asparagus and Eggplant
Ready in 35minThis recipe was adapted from a popular Japanese YouTube channel Cooking With Dog, with over 1,6 million subscribers. The tempura includes shrimp and various vegetables deep-fried in a simple tempura batter, which are then served over a bowl of rice and drizzled with tempura sauce.
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