Batter:
3 cups warm water
3 tablespoons salt
½ teaspoon monosodium glutamate
2 ½ cups flour
4 eggs
Dipping Sauce:
2 ounces Chinese or Japanese dried mushrooms
4 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup soy sauce
¼ teaspoon peeled and finely chopped ginger root, plus 10 thin slices peeled ginger root
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
2 large shrimp
½ cup sake or dry white wine
10 lime peel twists
Shellfish and Vegetables:
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled but with tail shell intact
½ pound large shrimp, peeled but with tail shell intact
½ pound bay scallops, washed and patted dry with paper towels
Salt
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
½ pound green beans, washed and the ends removed
1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into ½ inch strips
½ pound mushrooms, cut into ¼ inch slices
2 cups parsley sprigs, washed and tough ends removed
One 1 pound eggplant, cut into ¼ inch slices and soaked for 30 minutes in salted water to cover
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
One 2 ounce package cellophane noodles, cut into 4 inch strands
Salad oil
To make the batter: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the warm water, salt and monosodium glutamate and stir until the dry ingredients are dissolved. Add the flour and beat until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Set aside.
To make the dipping sauce: In a 2 to 3 quart saucepan, cover the dried mushrooms with the 4 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, over very low heat for 30 minutes. Add the sugar, soy sauce, chopped ginger, monosodium glutamate, and the 2 shrimp. Stir once or twice and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Finally, add the sake or white wine and cook 5 minutes longer. Strain, discarding the mushrooms and the ginger and shrimp. Serve in individual bowls each garnished with a twist of lime and a slice of ginger.
When you are ready to prepare the tempura—and it must be eaten very hot, just as it comes out of the pan—pour 3 inches of the salad oil into a deep fryer or skillet. Heat the oil until it smokes or registers 400 degrees on a deep fat thermometer.
Prepare all the ingredients in advance and have them close at hand. The jumbo and large shrimp should be almost completely split in half lengthwise, spread flat so they are butterflied, washed, intestinal veins removed, and placed in separate mounds on paper towels. Pat them dry with paper towels. Set the scallops on another paper towel and sprinkle both scallops and shrimps with salt. Line a platter with paper towels and place it near the deep fryer. Have a slotted spoon at hand.
When the oil is hot, cook the ingredients in the following order:
jumbo shrimp
scallops
onion slices
green beans
green pepper slices
mushrooms
parsley sprigs
eggplant slices
sweet potato slices
large shrimp with cellophane noodles
Dip the jumbo shrimp into the batter, coating all but the tail. Gently slide them into the oil and fry until they are brown on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve the jumbo shrimp while you cook the next ingredient, using the same technique. To cook the large shrimp and cellophane noodles, place a few noodles in your left hand. Top them with a large shrimp and cover with more noodles. Holding the package so that it does not separate, dip the entire package into the batter. As the batter fries it will harden around the package binding the ingredients. Fry as above.
As the cook, you will be busy while the guests eat, so reserve one item from each of the ingredients to make yourself an assortment of tempura just before you join the guests.
Eat the tempura with your fingers or chopsticks, dipping each ingredient into the sauce.
Serves 10
