Salmon Tempura, Lemon Rice, Chilli Oil
Good tempura batter should be very airy and light and crunchy without any trace of oiliness. To ensure yours ends up like this, heed these tips. Make the tempura batter at the last moment, sifting in the flour and then mixing it in with a fork, don’t over-work it, there should still be small lumps and traces of flour, as this is what makes the batter light. Don’t overcrowd the pan when frying - fry in small batches and serve as soon as possible. Finally this is not a traditional way to serve tempura, but it is tasty, and that’s what matters in my book.
Recipe Information
| serves | SALMON PORTION |
COURSE | COOKING METHOD |
PREPARATION TIME |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Fillet | Starter,Main,Snack,Savoury | Fry | Less than 30 minutes |
Ingredients
- For the lemon rice:
- 225 g (8 oz) long grain rice
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 75 g (3 oz) frozen peas, thawed
- Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon (leave a little to season the salmon)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 225 g (8 oz) salmon fillet, cut into medallions (se page 000)
- Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- for the tempura batter:
- 50 g (2 oz) plain flour
- 50 g (2 oz) cornflour
- ice cold, fizzy mineral water
- a little flour, for the salmon
- chilli oil, to serve
- Sprigs of fresh coriander, to garnish (optional)
Method
1. Start by making the lemon rice. Wash the rice well, drain and throw into a huge pan of fast -boiling salted water. Stir the rice and boil fast for 15 minutes, until just tender, then drain well through a colander or sieve. Return to the hot pan, add peas and mix in the lemon juice and zest and the chives. Keep warm.
2. If you are preparing the rice in advance, you can leave the chives until the last minute and reheat the rice in the microwave or oven.
3. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice.
4. Put the tempura ingredients into a bowl and give a quick mix. There’s no need to work the mixture, a quick swish with chopsticks is the traditional method, leaving the mixture still containing the odd lump or two. Pour the oil for deep-frying into a pan until it is one-third full and heat it to 190°C/375°F. Dip the pieces of salmon in flour then in the batter and fry a few at a time for about 2 minutes, until crisp and golden. You may need to turn the pieces half way through cooking, so don’t overcrowd the pan. Drain the salmon on kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the rest.
5. To serve, divide the rice between 4 warm serving plates. Place the salmon tempura on top and drizzle a little chilli oil round the outside. A sprig of coriander would work well as a garnish.
