Soramame to ebi no kakiage / mixed tempura with fava beans and prawns

Tempura tastes best when made with in-season ingredients. Here is a great example of mixed tempura using fava beans and spot shrimp, both of which have a short season in our area. Bitter, starchy fava beans are a great companion for sweet prawns.

<Ingredients>

10 botan-ebi spot shrimp
7-8 pods soramame fava beans (30-35 beans)
2 tsp flour (to dust prawns and fava beans; not in photo)

For tempura batter
6 tbsp flour
2 tbsp potato starch
1/4-1/2 egg
120 cc cold water
Pinch salt (not in photo)

Oil for deep-frying (8-9 parts canola oil and 1-2 parts sesame oil; not in photo)
Lemon and salt to serve (not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Shell fava beans as necessary.
Bring water to boil, and blanch fava beans for 30-60 seconds.

Drain.

When cool enough to handle, peel skin.

2.

Shell and devein prawns as necessary, and sogigiri slice at a slant into 2-3 sections.

3.

Place fava beans and prawns in a bowl, and dust with flour. 

Quickly mix.

4.

Prepare tempura batter.
In another bowl, put flour, potato starch and salt, and mix well.

Add egg to water, mix well, and pour into flour mixture.

Roughly mix (flour does not need to be incorporated).

5.

Add flour-dusted fava beans and prawns, and roughly mix.

6.

Heat oil to 170-175 C/340-350 F.

When oil is ready (fine bubbles come out of the end of bamboo chopsticks when immersed), scoop fava beans and prawns, tilt utensil against wall of bowl to get rid of excess batter, and gently put in oil.

Flip once or twice. 

After a minute or so when ingredients are done, raise heat somewhat, and remove each piece from oil.
First lift with chopsticks leaving one end still immersed to draw excess oil back to the pot, then remove piece while quickly shaking off oil, and place on a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels. 

7.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and salt.

<Notes>

• Lemon and salt or lemon salt is highly recommended to bring out the straightforward seasonal tastes of this kakiage. Tentsuyu dipping sauce could crowd the flavor instead of enhancing it. Better yet, cutting a lemon is easier than preparing the dipping sauce!
• As with any tempura dish, keep all ingredients for batter cold, and do not mix batter more than necessary – these are the keys to blocking gluten formation for a light final dish.
• For the same reason, after adding prawns and fava beans to the tempura batter, do not mix repeatedly after initially mixing them roughly in batter.
• Any prawn is fine, but always use uncooked ones.
• Blanching fava beans is optional, but it makes removing skin easier.