Tempura shrimp with soy-and-vinegar glaze (Japanese)

Tempura isn't a type of food, but a way of preparing food in Japanese cuisine. It means battering various bits of food and frying them to a soft and pillowy perfection (completely different from the crunch of Western fried foods). Tempura can be made with both vegetables or meat (shrimp and chicken are the most common choices); for this, I used shrimp as well. Also, the soy and vinegar glaze is exactly the sauce you want to be drizzled over this.
You can see more about how to batter bits of food in tempura style, step by step, here.
Recipe adapted from here. 

Last year: Mâncare de urzici (Romanian nettle stew).
Two years ago: Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon (cocktail).
Three years ago: Blueberry and carrot smoothie (raw vegan).
Four years ago: Coffee-marinated chicken, Fennel and walnut ricotta-filled muffins, The Ratatouille from the movie Ratatouille and Tofu Parmigiana (Italian).



Ingredients (serves 2):

• 400 g medium-large shrimps
• 1 egg
• 200 g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 200 ml ice water
• peanut oil for frying

For the soy and vinegar glaze:

• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3-4 tablespoons raw sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn or rice starch

Clean the shrimps (and also devein them if necessary), and pat them dry or leave them in a colander to remove excess water. 

Beat the egg in a medium bowl, then add the ice water to it. Also slowly incorporate the flour in it, by gently mixing it in, tablespoon by tablespoon. 

Heat the peanut oil in a wok, until it reaches about 180 C (350 F). Lightly dust each shrimp piece with flour, then dip it in the tempura batter and put it in the hot oil. The wok is an ideal medium for frying tempura battered vegetables and meat, because of the uniform way of distributing the heat thanks to its rounded bottom. 

Fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until crisp. You can then put it in a bowl lined with paper towels in order to absorb excess oil.

For the glaze, just mix all the ingredients together and bring them to a simmer over low heat, in a small saucepan. As soon as the sauce thickens, you can pour it over each serving of tempura shrimp. It's done, dig in! :)