Maitake Tempura with Sweet Soy Braised Poblano Peppers
You all knew this one was coming–one can’t find a windfall of maitake and not make tempura with it. Maitake mushrooms, once what moisture was within it evaporates during the frying process, holds the crunch of the panko very well. It also retains its texture without becoming mushy. A dusting of corn starch before dredging in the batter will keep the batter from sliding off in the oil.
The braised poblano peppers have a nice kick, but not knock your socks off spicy and were made from a gift of peppers from some friends who managed to grow a lot this year (not a single pepper was to be seen in my garden.) It was an attempt to bring back memories of my grandmother, who would make this delicious side dish, and I could eat an entire bowl of rice with just a single pepper (her choice of chili was also much spicier.) This can be done with just about any meaty pepper.
Swimming in a sweet and savory soy marinade, it provides the perfect, tender foil for my crispy tempura.
I topped the bowl off with scallion and a duck egg, just for some extra decadence.
Ingredients for sweet soy braised poblano peppers
- 4 – 7 polano peppers, deseeded
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sake
- 1/8 cup mirin
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Cooking oil, for pan
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, sake, mirin, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic.
- In an oiled pan over medium high heat, roast the poblano peppers until skin is slightly charred and flesh is beginning to tenderize.
- Add sauce and turn heat to medium-low, braise until liquid is reduced to about half. Remove from heat and store in a container up to 1 week.
Ingredients for Maitake Tempura
- 1 bunch fresh maitake mushroom (about 2 fist sized clusters)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup iced water
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup panko breading
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- Enough vegetable oil to cover 3 inches of the bottom of the pot
- Bowl of hot white rice
- Tentsuyu (3:1:1 Dashi Stock:Soy sauce:Sake)
- Lemon wedge
- Grated Daikon (pureed radish can be used in place)
- Scallions, for garnish
- 1 egg, fried or poached
- 1 sweet soy braised poblano pepper, chopped
- Heat pot of oil over medium high heat, until the oil sizzles when you drop in a few pieces of panko. Do not allow to smoke. It should just sizzle and bubble around the batter (and there should be lots of bubble but they should be tiny–if the bubbles are big, your heat is too high), taking some time to reach the golden colored stage–you don’t want the outside to burn before the inside is done.
- In a bowl, gently beat egg, water, and flour until combined into a thin batter.
- Coat maitake in thin dusting of corn starch and then dip in batter and dredge through panko breading. Fry in oil until golden, flipping gently if necessary, and drain on paper towel.
- Mix tentsuyu with grated daikon. Arrange tempura on top of rice with egg, peppers, garnish with scallions, pour tentsuyu radish mixture over the tempura. Serve while hot and crispy with a lemon wedge.