Day 18 - Kings Cross, Sydney - Shrimp Tempura Rolls

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A Sydney recipe journal would not be complete without including Sushi. Catering to everyone from budget-conscious backpackers to fanatic foodies, sushi vendors and restaurants both cheap and expensive can be everywhere.

Note: Kings Cross is an area of Sydney known more for its strip clubs and seedy bars (read: red light district) than for its food scene. However, there are some winning restaurants scattered throughout the Cross. (more on that shortly ...)

In search of a low-carb meal, my friend and workout partner Joseph (who was competing in a bodybuilding competition next-day ... will he let me put some pictures on this blog?) and I ended up at a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant where our Sushi Man “Haus” prepped our meals right in front of us (which is another benefit of eating sushi - more often than not you'll get something made a-la-minute).

Haus' place is definitely tight on room. T-i-g-h-t: he can seat 3 comfortably ... 4 uncomfortably.

(You are, in fact, looking at the entire seating capacity of Haus' Sushi House .... suffice to say, it books up quickly)

I'm completely addicted to these shrimp tempura rolls. Tempura (for those of you who don't know) is a basic batter used to quickly coat and fried up fish / vegetables in asian dishes.

(I suspect a few amongst you will appreciate a cooked sushi recipe, as opposed to one with raw fish. I know some of you are less adventurous that others ....)

This is what your tempura roll will look like before it's rolled up. Much less impressive than then the finished product, but once rolled, sliced, and served up with wasabi-infused soy sauce and lots o' pickled ginger, it's all good!

Ingredients:

Prepare 1 batch of sushi-grade rice (there are tons of websites showing you how to do this)

Batter:
1.5 cups Cake flour
1 eggs, beaten
1 cups ice water

Other ingredients:

Nori (flat sheets of sushi-grade seaweed)
Large shrimp
6 strips celery, 3" long
3 carrots, cut in 3" long strips, or julienned into fine strips
Avocado
Mayonnaise
Barbecue Sauce
Oil for deep frying
All-purpose flour (for dredging shrimp)

Recipe method
Mix cake flour with eggs and ice water until batter is slightly lumpy. Chill.

To prepare tempura, shell and devein shrimp, leaving tail, intact. Flatten slightly with sturdy whack of cleaver or flat side of heavy knife so shrimp will not curl while cooking.
Flatten one hand full of prepared rice (approximately the size of a softball) onto cling film Lay one sheet of nori, equal in size to the size, on top of the rice. Arrange remaining ingredients (except shrimp) on top of nori. "Only use a few drops of barbecue sauce", as per Haus (above).

Heat oil in deep kettle to 350F. Beat batter. Dip shrimp into all-purpose flour, then into chilled batter, shaking to remove excess batter.

Slip into deep fat and fry until shrimp rise to surface. (note: don't overcook shrimp, or they will be tough and tasteless).

Turn once and remove with slotted spoon or fork and drain on a plate lined with paper towel.

To serve, place shrimp in between other ingredients in rolls, roll sushi tighly, slicing each roll into 8 same-sized portions.