Tendon

Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl)

Tendon is a classic Japanese donburi featuring crispy prawn and vegetable tempura served over steamed rice and finished with a glossy sweet-savory soy glaze. The warm sauce is poured over the tempura at the table so the batter stays crisp at the edges while soaking through at the base.

Prep

25 min

Cook

25 min

Total

50 min

Serves

2

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (1½ cups) Japanese short-grain rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• •4 whole large prawns, shell on, deveined, tails intact
• •1 whole sweet potato, peeled, sliced 5 mm thick
• •4 pieces shiso leaves, optional, for aroma
• •120 g (1 cup) cake flour, low-protein; keeps batter light
• •1 whole egg yolk, room temperature
• •180 ml (¾ cup) ice-cold sparkling water, cold gas keeps batter crisp
• •500 ml (2 cups) neutral oil, for frying, e.g. rice bran or canola
• •60 ml (¼ cup) dashi, kombu and bonito, or instant
• •45 ml (3 tbsp) soy sauce
• •45 ml (3 tbsp) mirin
• •15 g (1 tbsp) granulated sugar
• •2 g (½ tsp) grated daikon, to serve
• •2 g (½ tsp) grated ginger, to serve
• •2 g (¼ tsp) shichimi togarashi, optional, to serve

Steps

1. 1 Cook the rice: combine 300 g rinsed rice with 360 ml water in a rice cooker or heavy pot, bring to a boil, reduce to lowest heat, cover and cook 12 minutes, then rest off heat 10 minutes. Fluff and keep covered.
2. 2 Make the glaze: combine dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and reduce for 3-4 minutes until slightly syrupy and the sugar is fully dissolved. Keep warm.
3. 3 Prepare the prawns: pat very dry with paper towels. Make 3 small slits along the underside of each prawn to prevent curling. Lightly dust with cake flour.
4. 4 Make the batter right before frying: whisk the egg yolk with the ice-cold sparkling water in a bowl, then sift the flour over the top and stir briefly with chopsticks, leaving some lumps. Do not overmix.
5. 5 Heat oil to 175-180 °C / 350 °F in a deep heavy pot. Dip a prawn in batter, letting excess drip off, and lower into the oil. Fry 2-3 prawns at a time for about 2 minutes, turning once, until the batter is pale gold and crisp. Prawns are done when the flesh at the thickest part is opaque and reaches an internal temperature of 62 °C / 145 °F; the tails will be bright red.
6. 6 Fry sweet potato slices the same way for 2-3 minutes until golden and tender when pierced.
7. 7 Drain tempura on a wire rack (not paper towels) to keep the batter crisp.
8. 8 Divide hot rice between two bowls. Arrange 2 prawns and sweet potato slices on top of each bowl. Spoon 60-75 ml of the warm glaze over each serving so it runs through the batter onto the rice.
9. 9 Serve immediately with grated daikon, grated ginger, and shichimi togarashi on the side. Pour the glaze tableside if you want the batter to stay extra crisp.