About the Recipe
Cod isn't very popular in Japan - certainly not as popular as in the UK. This dish is my interpretation of tempura done with cod fillets - cod actually works well in tempura as the flesh is strong enough to withstand deep frying without breaking up - as a "tempura donburi" AKA "tendon", the cod is served on a bed of rice - not chips!
Ingredients
for tendon sauce:
2 tbsp sugar
2.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1/4 tsp japanese dashi granules
40 ml water
400-450g cooked rice
for the cod tendon:
60g carrot
220g cod fillet
4 slices of sweet potato (about 5mm thick)
a handful of rocket, rinsed
150ml tempura flour
220ml water
vegetable oil for deep frying
some kitchen paper
Preparation
to make the tendon sauce:
put all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil while stirring & simmer for 1-2 mins or until the sauce had slightly thickened
to make the tendon:
peel and thinly slice the carrot into matchsticks
cut the cod fillet in half lengthways
mix the tempura flour and water into a batter
fill a pan with 2 - 2.5cm of veg oil & heat to 170 C / 340 F
dip the sweet potato slices into the batter
deep fry until golden in colour - check that the potato is cooked using a chopstick or skewer
put all the carrot into the batter
using chopsticks or a pair of forks, take up a small bundle & deep fry in the oil until golden in colour
repeat with the rocket, puttingit in the batter, taking up a small bundle and deep frying in the oil but just a few seconds
now, dip the cod fillets into the batter, fry until golden in colour
now fill 2 serving bowls half full with Japanese rice. assemble the tempura over the rice. finally, sprinkle over the ten-don sauce before serving