You will probably need no encouragement, but these light, crisp morsels, one of the cornerstones of Japanese cooking, must be eaten as soon as they are cooked. They are believed to have been around since the late sixteenth century – it’s thought the principle was introduced by Portuguese Catholic missionaries and other workers who would make fritters before they had to fast. Lard would probably have been used then, but it’s thought that the basic batter recipe would have been much the same.
It’s super simple to make – just iced water, flour, egg and salt – but treat it lightly just as the Japanese do and whisk everything just until all the ingredients come together. Otherwise, you’ll find the cooked batter at the end will be tough. In fact, the traditional way to mix the batter is with chopsticks, as the tapered ends cut lightly through the liquid to mix it into the dry flour. A few lumps are absolutely fine in there.
When preparing the ingredients, try to keep them all about the same size so they cook in around the same amount of time. The principles of deep-frying are the same here as with other deep-fried food: maintain the temperature of the oil by testing regularly (a metal-stemmed thermometer is useful if you’re not using a deep-fat fryer) and don’t overcrowd the pan so that the temperature doesn’t reduce.
Drop the pieces onto kitchen paper as soon as they’re whipped out of the hot oil to soak up any excess and sprinkle with a little salt, to help cut through the greasiness. They’re at their best still hot, having had a few seconds to cool down so the batter is still crisp, so have the dipping sauce ready and gather everyone round so you can serve them in batches as soon as they’re cooked.