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–+ servings

Tempura Donburi with Homemade Tendon Sauce

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Tendon Sauce

Suggested Tendon Ingredients

  • 4 large shrimp deshelled and deveined (tiger, white leg or similar)
  • 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 perilla leaves (shiso)
  • 1 sheet roasted seaweed for sushi (nori) cut into quarters
  • 2 eggplants Japanese or similar
  • 4 slices kabocha squash (or butternut squash) skin-on
  • 4 shishito peppers

Tempura Batter

  • 150 ml water chilled
  • 1 egg
  • 100 ml carbonated water chilled
  • 150 g unbleached cake flour plus extra for dusting
  • 30 g cornstarch
  • 3 ice cubes
  • cooking oil for deep frying

To Serve

Instructions 

  • Place all of the batter ingredients in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes ahead of cooking. I recommend measuring the dry ingredients into a bowl and chilling them in the freezer too. I would also use this time to soak/cook the rice.
    Still water in a jug and sparkling water in a sealed bottle
  • To make the tendon sauce, pour 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 3 tbsp sake, 4 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp light brown sugar and 1 tsp dashi granules into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium and let it bubble for until thickened like a syrup, about 3 minutes. Take it off the heat and set aside to cool.
    homemade tendon sauce in a saucepan on the stove with silicone spatula
  • Wash, dry and cut your tempura ingredients. Make shallow diagonal incisions on the bellies of 4 large shrimp to prevent curling. Cut off the stems and cut 2 eggplants in half lengthways. Trim the stems off 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms. Prepare a plate of flour for dusting.
    making incisions along the body of shrimp so that it doesn't curl when cooking
  • Start heating a deep pot of cooking oil to 180 °C (356 °F) to 190 °C (374 °F). Once it's hot, take a mixing bowl and add 150 ml water and 1 egg. Whisk until foamy, scoop out the foam and add 100 ml carbonated water. Mix 30 g cornstarch and 150 g unbleached cake flour in a bowl, then sift it into the wet ingredients one-third at a time. Draw crosses in the mixture to combine without overmixing (lumps are okay). Add 3 ice cubes to chill it even more.
    tempura batter with ice cubes
  • Dust your ingredients with a thin layer of flour, then dip them into the batter and place them straight into the oil. I recommend cooking each ingredient in separate batches for accurate cooking times. Shrimp, mushrooms and eggplants take 2-3 minutes, perilla leaves and nori will take about 30 seconds. Fry until crispy and a pale golden color. (If using root vegetables, cooking time depends on thickness and can range from 2-4 minutes.) Once cooked, drain on a wire rack.
    frying vegetable tempura (shiitake mushrooms and eggplants) in a Japanese style fryer
  • When all of your ingredients are cooked, dip a whisk into the leftover batter and sprinkle it over the oil to make tempura flakes (tenkasu). Fry until golden and crispy, then scoop out with a mesh spoon and transfer to a sheet of kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
    draining crispy tempura flakes on kitchen paper to absorb oil
  • Divide 4 portions cooked Japanese short-grain rice into deep serving bowls, leaving some space at the top. Sprinkle with tempura flakes and drizzle with tendon sauce.
    rice in a bowl topped with tempura flakes
  • Arrange the tempura on top, then pour over the remaining sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
    Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl) made with shrimp and a variety of vegetables in a striped bowl drizzled with homemade sauce on a white background

Notes

Mix the batter right before you fry: Gluten starts the moment flour meets water. Have the fillings and the oil ready first, then mix. If it warms up mid-fry, add ice.
Dry the fillings, then dust them: Batter will not stick to a wet surface. Wipe each piece, dust it thinly, and knock the excess off. This is where most coatings peel.
Judge the sauce by thickness: A thin film left on the back of a spoon is enough. If it runs off instead of clinging, simmer it over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring.
Sauce the rice before the tempura goes on: Pour it only over the tempura and the rice underneath stays plain. Wet the rice lightly first, then stack the tempura on top.
Avoid bleached cake flour: Avoid bleached or chlorinated cake flour, self-rising flour, and gluten-free blends, as they change the texture. For UK/AU readers, plain flour works. See flour guide.