← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 300 g pork tenderloin or loin, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• ½ Chicken breast, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 1 Onion, cut into chunky wedges
• 8 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 6 Asparagus, cut into 6 cm lengths
• 8 slices Lotus root (optional)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper
• 120 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 Eggs
• 200 ml Water, ice cold
• 150 g fine panko
• 1 l neutral oil, for deep-frying
• 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp Ketchup
• 2 tbsp Water
• 2 tsp Soy sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar
• ¼ raw cabbage leaves, to serve

Method

1. Simmer the dipping sauce ingredients for 1 minute until the sugar dissolves, then cool and pour into a shallow container.
2. Thread the meat and vegetables onto short bamboo skewers, one or two pieces each. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
3. Whisk the flour, egg and iced water into a smooth batter, about as thick as pancake batter.
4. Heat the oil to 175°C (350°F). Dip each skewer into the batter, let the excess drip off, then roll it in the panko.
5. Fry in small batches for 2–3 min for vegetables and 3–4 min for meat, until deep golden and the pork and chicken are cooked through. Drain on a rack.
6. Serve hot with the sauce for dipping and raw cabbage leaves, which you can use to scoop more sauce.

Tips

• Osaka’s famous rule: no double-dipping in the shared sauce pot. Use a cabbage leaf to spoon more on.
• Quail eggs, prawns, cheese and mochi are all great on skewers too. Contains wheat and egg.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101