Tilapia is a versatile fish, which is why you need to use deboning technique before you fry the fish. You can also use other techniques as long as you know how. You will need a very sharp knife and some practice to get this right. Just take your time at first. Also, you can use other kinds of fish for making tempura. You can instantly freeze for later use.
Ingredients:
4-6 tilapia fillets
Salt
Vegetable oil for cooking
3/4 cup rice flour or all-purpose flour
1/4 corn starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ice cold sparkling water
1 egg yolk
Sauce for dipping
Procedures:
1. Get your cooking oil up to 360-370 degrees. While the oil is heating, cut the shad fillets into serving pieces and salt lightly. Mix all the dry ingredients for the tempura batter. Turn your oven to the “warm” setting, and place a cookie sheet inside. Place a wire rack on top of the cookie sheet.
2.When the oil it hot, mix the egg yolk and the sparkling water into the dry tempura batter ingredients and stir only until just combined; it’s OK to have a few lumps. Dip some of the tilapia into the batter, making sure the batter gets into the slits you cut into the fish using the honegiri technique or other techniques. Fry the fish until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Make sure the fish does not stick to the bottom of the pot, and use a chopstick to dislodge any pieces that do stick.
3. When each batch is done, transfer it to the wire rack in the oven. When all the fish is done, serve at once with ponzu sauce, soy sauce or any other dipping sauce.
4. Serves 4
