Tempura

Prepare the ingredients; sweet potatoes, shrimp, eggplant, Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), green beams, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
Make tempura batter (see recipe below).
Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan to 340-350ºF*.
Lightly dip ingredients in the batter and immediately fry them until crisp. It takes longer to fry vegetables than seafood.
Drain tempura on a rack.
Serve right away with tensuyu (tempura dipping sauce).

Tempura Batter:
1 egg beaton and ice cold water to make 1 cup
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch

Beat the egg in a bowl. Add ice water. Add premixed flour and cornstarch in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Makes 4 servings.

Tempura Dipping Sauce:
Buy "Tsuyu" (all-purpose seasoning soup) and add water.

OR
1 cup dashi soup stock
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
put everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

*to check the temperature of frying oil, drop a little batter into the oil. If the batter comes up right away instead of sinking to the bottom of the pan, it's about 360ºF. If the batter goes halfway to the bottom and comes up, it's about 340ºF.

Submitted by Akiko Takara

Fried Rice

2 cups cooked Japanese rice (leftover rice is best)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup diced ham or bacon
2 eggs
1 tsp chicken bouillon (I use powder type)
chopped green onion
salt & pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil

Put a pan on high heat. Add oil to the pan. Wisk the eggs in a small bowl. Put the eggs in the heated pan and make scrambled eggs. Remove the scrambled eggs from the pan, and place into a dish and set aside. Put the pan on high heat and add more oil. Saute ham/bacon and onion. Add rice and stir well. Add bouillon, salt and pepper. Add the scrambled egg to the rice mixture. Add green onion. Turn off heat and serve. Makes two servings.

Submitted by Akiko Takara

Spiced Cider

2 quarts apple cider or juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 each cinnamon sticks
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
additional cinnamon sticks, optional

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients; bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks.
3. Use additional cinnamon sticks for stirrers if desired.

I usually double this recipe and then, after cooling, return it to it's original plastic jug and store in the fridge so that my family can enjoy hot cider at breakfast. It keeps for a few weeks. Servings: 10. Yield: 2 quarts

Submitted by Chantel Younger