Pumpkin and Nori Tempura

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Ingredients

8 slices of pumpkin, about 2 cm thick

1 sheet of nori seaweed

1 cup of tempura mix

3/4 cup iced water

oil for frying (I used rice bran oil)

salt to taste

Remove the skin and seed from the pumpkin slices. Cut the nori into eight strips and roll each strip around the middle of each pumpkin slice, like a belt. In a bowl mix the tempura mix with the water using a fork. Do not over mix the batter, but leave it a bit lumpy. Heat the oil in a capable frying pan, the oil will be ready when a drop of batter poured into it start sizzling and raise to the surface. Start coating the pumpkin slices with batter on both sides and place them in the hot oil. Fry the slices for approximately 3 minutes, turning once. The batter should look golden and crispy. Place on kitchen paper to remove excess oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Dipping Sauce:

For the tempura dipping sauce I mix soy sauce with a little kombu stock (recipe here, without the wakame of course). Some people add mirin or sugar, but I prefer not to. Maybe a little grated daikon or grated ginger, if I have it.