Edo-Style Tendon (Japanese Tempura Rice Bowl with Sweet Soy Tare)

Six shrimp are cleaned and given several shallow cuts along the belly so they can be pressed straight before frying. One hundred twenty grams sweet potato and 100 g eggplant are sliced 0.7 cm thick, then their surfaces are dried. The batter is made from 100 g tempura flour and 150 ml cold water. It is stirred only briefly with chopsticks and left with a few small lumps, avoiding the dense coating that develops after excessive mixing. For the tare, 3 tablespoons tsuyu, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon sugar go into a saucepan over medium heat. The mixture is ready after simmering for 2 minutes. Four hundred milliliters cooking oil is held at 170 degrees Celsius. The vegetables are fried first in separate small batches so the oil temperature does not fall sharply. Each shrimp receives a thin layer of batter and fries at the same temperature while held in its straightened shape. Three hundred sixty grams warm rice is divided among the bowls, followed immediately by the drained vegetable and shrimp tempura. The tare is spooned over while still warm. Dry ingredient surfaces, cold lightly mixed batter, and uncrowded frying all help the coating remain thin. Adding the sauce only after the tempura reaches the rice lets some tare season the grains while the upper surfaces of the pieces remain freshly fried.