asparagus tempura

ingredients:

• 3 ounces asparagus
• salad oil for deep-frying
• a little flour

coating:

• 1 egg
• 1/6 cup cold water
• 2/3 ounce flour

dipping sauce (optional):

• 1/4 cup bonito soup stock
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

or salt (optional)

step 1:

Cut off the roots of the asparagus 1 in. from the end and cut into 2 in. long pieces.

step 2:

To make the coating, mix the egg and cold water in a bowl. Add the flour and toss.

step 3:

Dust the asparagus lightly with a little flour before applying the coating (see Step 4).

step 4:

With chopsticks, dip the asparagus pieces into the coating and twirl them around to coat them. Fill a wok over half full with salad oil.

step 5:

Heat the oil to 340 °F and deep-fry 3 to 5 asparagus pieces a few minutes until golden brown. Remove and drain on a rack. Cook the remaining asparagus in the same manner.

step 6:

When serving, you can use either dipping sauce or salt. To make the dipping sauce, mix the bonito soup stock, soy sauce and sugar together in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour into two small bowls. Dip the asparagus pieces into the dipping sauce.