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Tempura oysters with kelp & miso sauce

Cook Difficulty

Medium

Cook Time

60 min

Ingredients

Kelp seasoning

½ sheet dried nori

1tsp sesame seeds

1 fresh small lime, zest only

100g flakey sea salt

Miso dipping sauce

60g miso paste

20ml rice wine vinegar

60ml water

3 fresh lemons, juiced, zest of 1

50ml soy sauce

½ spring onion, finely chopped

Tempura

1 egg

1 cup ice water

1 cup flour, sifted

24 NZ Pacific oysters, half shell

Oil for frying

There are some essental things to do when it comes to making the perfect tempura. Most of it relates to the batter itself. It's important to use ice water instead of room temperature, as it prevents the batter from absorbing too much oil.

The batter should also be made fresh and not ahead of time. Try not to over mix it, and be sure to not coat the oysters with too much of the batter. 

Method

Kelp seasoning

  1. Toast the nori sheet in a non-stick pan till it becomes very crispy. As it cools it should crumble very easily.
  2. Remove from the pan, add the sesame seeds and lightly toast.
  3. Place the nori and sesame seeds in a spice grinder and blend till very fine.
  4. Remove and combine with the lime zest and salt in a small plastic sealed bag.
  5. Shake the bag so the lime zest oil is extracted through the mixture.

Miso dipping sauce

  1. Place all the ingredients except the spring onion into a small sauce pan and bring up to a slow simmer, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. 
  2. As soon as it reaches a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  3. Add the spring onions and mix through.

Tempura batter

  1. Beat an egg in a bowl.
  2. Add ice water.
  3. Add sifted flour to the bowl and mix lightly, not over mixing the batter.

Cooking the tempura oysters

  1. In a deep fryer, deep sauce pan, or wok, pre-heat cooking oil to 180°C (355°F).
  2. Remove the oysters from their shells, place on a paper towel and lightly pat dry.
  3. Set the shells on a plate.
  4. Dip the oysters in fresh tempura batter and cook in the oil till the batter is crispy.
  5. Remove from the oil and place on a dry paper towel.
  6. Return the cooked oysters into the shell and season with kelp mixture.
  7. Serve hot with the miso dipping sauce, extra seasoning and lemon wedges.