Recipe
Recipe

Ingredients
Kelp seasoning
- ½ dried nori sheet
- 1tsp sesame seeds
- 1 fresh small lime, zest only
- 100g flakey sea salt
Miso dipping sauce
- 60g miso paste
- 20ml rice wine vinegar
- 60ml water
- 3 fresh lemons, juice from 3, zest from 1
- 50ml soy sauce
- ½ spring onion, finely chopped
Tempura
- 1 egg
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 cup flour
- 24 NZ Pacific oysters, half shell
- oil for frying

Seafood used

Cooking method
Kelp seasoning
- Toast the nori sheet in a non-stick pan till it becomes very crispy. As it cools it should crumble very easily.
- Remove from the pan & add the sesame seeds & lightly toast.
- Place in a spice grinder (or mortar & pestle) & blend till very fine. Remove & combine with the lime zest & salt in a small plastic sealed bag - shake so the lime zest oil is extracted through the mixture.
Miso dipping sauce
- In a small sauce-pan place all the ingredients except the spring onion and bring up to a slow simmer mixing with a wooden spoon at all times. As soon as it reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat & allow to cool. Add the spring onions & mix through.
Tempura batter
- Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water.
- Add sifted flour to the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
Cooking the tempura oysters
- In a deep fryer (deep sauce-pan or wok) pre-heat cooking oil to 180°C (355°F).
- Remove the oysters from their shells & place on a paper towel & lightly pat dry. Set the shells on a plate.
- Dip the oysters in fresh tempura batter & cook in the oil till the batter is crispy. Remove from the oil & place on a dry paper towel.
- Return the cooked oysters into the shell & season with kelp mixture.
- Serve hot with the miso dipping sauce, extra seasoning & lemon wedges.
Tips on tempura:
Tip 1: Ice - use ice water for the batter. This is really important to prevent the batter from absorbing too much oil.
Tip 2: Batter - do not make the batter ahead of time. Try not to over mix the batter and not to coat ingredients with the batter too much.
Tip 3: Frying should be in hot oil 180°C (355°F).
Image and recipe courtesy Nurtured Seafood