Shrimp tempura (p. 388)

I essentially make Shrimp tempura (p. 388) every year for Christmas Eve, I refused to make it again and not count it as "TJOTJOC made".

In our Italian-American household, Christmas Eve is meat-free. I think it's sort of a "Feast of the Seven Fishes" holdover, just with fewer types of fish. Christmas tends to be a Thanksgiving style meal (turkey or ham, sweet potatoes, mashed poatoes, etc.) while Christmas Eve has a pasta with a squid/crab/lobster sauce, fried shrimp/calamari/cauliflower, stuffed calamari, etc. It's one of my favorite meals of the year. Several years ago, the frying related jobs became my duty and I always use TJOC's tempura batter.

I peeled and cleaned the shrimp, leaving the tails. I dipped the shrimp in the batter, carefully placed them in the fryer, cooked them for a few minutes and drained them. Make sure all of your shellfish are as dry as possible--otherwise the oil will spit and it's really dangerous. I also recommend an apron.

The shrimp are on the left side of the picture:

Delicious, as always! I love this batter. It's light, crisp, and doesn't overwhelm the shellfish. If I had a deep-fryer that was less of a hassle to wrestle out of the cabinet, I would make these far more often.