Zaru Soba and Tempura

Last night Andrew and I had Shrimp and Corn Tempura with Zaru Soba for dinner. It was a lovely way to spend the evening together; dipping the soba noodles into a cup of the mentsuyu sauce as we caught one another up on our days'. There is a rhythm and timefulness to it, a whisper of ritual in each bite.  I love the minimalist nature of traditional Japanese food, like their poetry, there is no excess; it is all it needs to be, and nothing more.

The corn tempura was an experiment inspired by a restaurant called Yuzu. Andrew and I visited for our two month anniversary, it was a bit excessive for our taste, but the corn tempura, which is their house specialty, piqued my interest. The oddness of the cuisine fusion had to be eaten to be believed, and it worked quite well, especially with a small pinch of brewer's yeast on the side. Apart from the concept the actual dish didn't seem too complicated and so I had to try making it at home. After half a bag of frozen corn and some MacGyvering I managed to succeed.

The recipes are below. (Note: because I'm lazy I typically either make the mentsuyu sauce or the tempura sauce and then use whichever one for both the tempura and the soba.)

Zaru Soba

Adapted from Just One Cookbook

2 bundles of dried soba noodles

 
2 green onions, finely chopped
Wasabi paste
Kizami Nori (finely shredded Nori Sheets)

1. Bring water (without salt) to a boil and add the soba noodles. They cook in about four minutes. Swish the noodles to keep them from sticking together. Test a noodle to see if they're done. Don't overcook.
2. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water until they aren't slimy. If they need to sit for a few minutes, rest a few ice cubes on them so they don't dry out.
3. Chop up the green onions and sprinkle them over the noodles just before serving. Top with the Kizami Nori.
4. Dip the noodles into the mentsuyu sauce as you eat them, with a touch of wasabi.


Tempura
Inspired by Yuzu Restaurant 

12 shrimp (the larger the better)
3/4 c. frozen corn
corn starch for sprinkling (optional)
Cooking oil

1 egg
water
3/4 c flour
pinch of salt

1. Prep the shrimp. If it's frozen, thaw it in cold water. Here is a tutorial on cleaning and prepping them. Pat them dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with corn starch to keep from being too wet.
2. Thaw corn under running water and then drain thoroughly.
3. Heat the oil in pot or pan, the oil should be at least two inches deep. 320 is the ideal temperature.
4. The liquid to flour ratio is supposed to be the same. Break an egg into a measuring cup and then add very cold water up to the 3/4 line.
4. Beat egg and water together and then skim the bubbles off.
5. Sift flour and salt into bowl.
6. Add egg-water mixture and lightly mix together. Do not over-mix, tempura batter is touchy and does not like being over agitated or warm. Don't worry if there are still small bubbles of flour if the batter is generally mixed.
7. Dip shrimp into the batter until lightly coated (the batter will puff and expands in the oil so you don't need to worry about covering every spot) and then lower into the oil slowly. Make sure both sides are cooked, 1-2 minutes. Lift out and drain on a paper towel.
8. Place 1/4 cup of corn in a ladle, spoon over enough batter to lightly coat the corn and lower the ladle into the oil at an angle that will allow the oil to surround and cover the mixture. Allow the batter to cook in the ladle until it begins to solidify then use your tongs or chopsticks to scrap/pull the ball of corn and tempura loose from the ladle and finish cooking in the oil. 1-2 minutes. (If you just drop the corn and tempura directly into the oil the corn and tempura will not hold together.)

Enjoy with tempura or mentsuyu sauce, which you can buy or make. Recipes: Tempura and Mentsuyu