天ぷらのころも

Tempura Batter

Tempura batter is made with ice-cold water and only lightly mixed to combine the ingredients. The lumps are not beaten out. The secret of crisp tempura is to have the food and batter as cold as possible prior to cooking.

MAKES 1 QUANTITY

310 ml (10 ¾ fl oz/1¼ cups) iced water

45 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) potato starch, sifted

140 g (5 oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted, plus 1 tablespoon extra

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Pour the water into a bowl. Add the sifted potato starch, flour, baking powder and salt all at once and just give a few light strokes with a pair of chopsticks to loosely combine. There should be flour all around the edges of the bowl and the batter should be lumpy. (If your kitchen is hot, place over a bowl of iced water.)