Japanese feast

[gabby]

We had a 2 part Japanese meal today which was fantastic. serves 2

Part 1 Yakitori: Sasami no Ume-shiso

6 chicken tenderloins 2 tsp sherry 1 tbsp coconut aminos 1/2 tsp ume vinegar (or fish sauce basically something salty and umame) 6 perilla (shisho) leaves umeboshi paste

Marinade the tenderloins in the sherry, coconut aminos and vinegar for at least 1/2 an hour, longer is nicer.  Feed the chicken onto bamboo skewers gently and wrap a perilla leaf around each stick.  If you have a charcoal grill then use it, but I cooked mine in a frypan (skillet) as I was too lazy to spend 45 mins lighting heat beads for 6 sticks. Baste with the marinade as they cook to keep them moist.  Dab the umeboshi paste on the sticks and serve, warning it is pretty salty so use a light hand to start with and add more if required.

Check the ingredients of the Umeboshi paste, you want one with Ume (Japanese apricots often called Japanese plums for some reason) perilla (shisho) and salt as the only ingredients such as eden or spiral organic brands. Same with the ume vinegar or fish sauce.

Part 2 Vegetable tempura

1 Medium sweet potato 1 large zucchini 4 fresh shitake mushrooms (or dried soaked for 10 mins in hot water then squeezed dry) 1/2 cup of water chestnut flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup -1/2 cup soda water 1/2 tsp bicarb soda 1/8 tsp cream of tartar oil for deep frying ( I used 1/2 lard 1/2 coconut oil because that is what I had on hand, but I suspect palm shortening might be healthier) Optional dipping sauce of coconut aminos and ume vinegar (tamari and sesame oil for non aip family members)

Slice the sweet potato and zucchini into 5mm thick diagonal slices, saving the ends with odd shapes for another dish.  Heat the oil to 199 Celsius (375 Fahrenheit). Just before it reaches this temp mix in the soda water to the flour and salt, start with 1/4 cup then gradually add a tiny bit more until a thick steam pours off a spoon when tipped, add the baking soda and cream of tartar at the last minute. Dip the slices in the batter and deep fry 3 mins for mushrooms and zucchini, 6 mins for sweet potato.

Water chestnut flour is called singoda flour at the indian grocery, check the ingredients as it can be mixed with other flours that are permitted while fasting.

Notes on timing: I used a very small pan to save on oil use, I had the oven on at 120 c and a baking tray with paper towels in the oven. While waiting for the oil to heat I assembled the sticks, then made the batter, you really don't want to add the bicarb or cream of tartar to the last minute as it is what will give the "beaten eggwhite" light texture to the batter. I put 2-3 slices in at a time and then put them on the paper towels to drain in the oven.  I did the mushrooms and zucchini first and assembled the dipping sauce while witing for them to cook, then did the sweet potatoes which I ended up with 6 slices done in 3 batches, while the first batch of potatoes were cooking I added a dash of oil to the frypan and started it heating on medium heat, added the skewers and basted once.  Then removed the potatoes waited for the oil to come back to 199 degrees added the next batch of taters, baster skewers again and turned, basted at 5 min mark and turned to low heat, then back to the potatoes to remove to oven, waited for oil to heat again, added last batch of potatoes, basted and turned skewers again, waited until 5 min mark and basted and turned again.  Removed final 2 slices of tempura to serving plates, added the tempura from the oven to serving plates, added the skewers to plates and dabbed with umeboshi.  YUMMO!  The only thing that would make it better would be an ice cold Asahi just as well i had some soda water left over to fool my brain with

[gabby]

Oh no, I was feeling a bit sore after eating this and have googled Indian water chestnut and found out it is the seed of a water caltrop "Trapa bispinosa", not the tuber of "Eleocharis dulcis" like Chinese water chestnut. Perhaps try tapioca starch instead if you make this.