hijiki tempura

ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce dried hijiki
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• a little salt
• a little pepper
• 1 quart water for soaking
• oil for deep frying

coating:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 3/4 ounces flour

dipping sauce (optional):

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

or salt (optional)

step 1:

Soak the dried hijiki in the 1 liter of water in a bowl for 30 minutes. Remove and drain.

step 2:

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

step 3:

Add the hijiki. Stir several times.

step 4:

Heat the oil to 340 °F. Dip a wooden spatula into the hijiki mixture and slowly slide the hijiki into the oil wit chopsticks.

step 5:

Deep-fry a couple of minutes. Turn over and deep-fry the same amount of time.

step 6:

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until all of the mixture has been deep-fried.

step 7:

You can use either dipping sauce or salt. To make the dipping sauce, mix bonito soup stock, soy sauce and sugar together in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour into two small bowls. Dip the hijiki tempura into the dipping sauce. Or, if you prefer salt, pour a suitable amount onto a small plate and dip the hijiki tempura into the salt.