Another cooperation in the kitchen between my husband and son ended up with a fabulous shrimp tempura. These guys are really good at deep frying, I tell ‘ya! And me? Well, I really should have known better than to wait for the last shrimp at the bottom of the bowl to jump on my feet and run for the camera, quick, quick quick, yelling on my way, “No one is allowed to touch that last shrimp, you hear me?” This has happened before and ended with crumbs… I should have learned.

It started with a big pile of deep fried shrimp. Hot, crunchy, crispy, savory and sweet coated, that crackles under your teeth, with a sprits of lemon juice on top… How could I have thought that we are going to have leftovers for next day’s lunch? Do I really have such little faith?

We have devoured these.

Only when I realized that there was only one more shrimp left, and I noticed the neat little pile of shrimp tails on my son’s plate,

I understood that I better grab the camera asap so I can show you some evidence of this magnificent dish and what it looks like so i can share its recipe with you. So at least I was able to give you that.

So what’s my New Year’s resolution!!!? To carry the camera closer to me – Snap snap snap… – and have more faith in good food!

Now seriously.

Two things that I would like to do more this upcoming year are, 1) to have you guest post here on my blog and, 2) for me to write guest posts on other blogs. Why? Because I would like to make new friends and/or to deepen the connections with friends I’ve made so far in the blogsphere.

Food photography was the main theme for guest posting on here so far (sharing your learning curve, you don’t have to be a professional to post about this) and I now open it to other topics that are in line with the topics of this blog. Contact me and send me an a-mail if you are interested with the topic you wish to write about.

Also, don’t forget about the cookie scoop giveaway! Details here. Start the year with a shiny new tool!

Shrimp tempura

Adapted from a recipe in the “Fish Without a Doubt” cookbook
Makes 4 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus additional for dredging
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 ice cubes
1-1 1/4 cups very cold seltzer (ours was room temp)
canola oil for deep-frying
1 1/2 lbs. extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails left on
1 lemon cut to wedges, for serving

Whisk the flour, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the egg and start whisking, then add the ice cubes and gradually the seltzer until until the batter is completely smooth. Refrigerate while you heat the oil.

Heat at least 3 inches of oil in a wide deep pot to 350 to 365 F degrees. Set a plate lined with a few paper towels next to the stove.

In a small bowl, put about 1/3 cup cornstarch. Dredge a few shrimp in cornstarch, shaking off the excess. When the oil is hot, dip each shrimp in the tempura batter, letting the excess batter drip off, then using a spider (see picture below) or a slotted spoon, lower the shrimp into the oil. Repeat with a few more shrimp, but don’t overcrowd the pot.

Fry, turning the shrimp with a spider/slotted spoon so it fries evenly, until the batter is crisp and light gold, about 3 1/2 minutes. Use the spider to take out the cooked shrimp and any bits of cooked batter from the oil before frying the next batch. Place them on the paper lined plate to soak the oil.

Save those fried bits and eat them! They are gooood. Serve right away with lemon wedges.

Note: You can use any leftover batter to fry some veggies. We used zucchini.

This is a spider —>>>