Food - Drink
3 Ways Japan's Kakiage Can Be Served
BY YASH RAAJ
Tempura is a crispy Japanese dish in which ingredients such as seafood and vegetables are battered in flour, egg, and water, then deep-fried. Kakiage tempura is a variety that uses many different ingredients — usually leftovers — all mixed together, dipped in a whole-egg batter, and fried, and it can be served in a variety of ways.
Donburi
Donburi means "bowl," but the term has become synonymous with rice bowls, and a rice bowl with kakiage is known as kakiage don. After putting kakiage over hot rice, you can add other tempura-fried ingredients like eggplant or shrimp to add different textural elements, or add a sauce with soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.
Udon And Soba
Both thick udon noodles and thin soba noodles pair well with humble kakiage. The best way to eat udon noodles with kakiage is to make a soup from dashijiru (umami stock), soy sauce, mirin, and sake before adding the udon and tempura, while soba kakiage is best made with mentsuyu, (noodle soup base), water, and salt.
Nigiri
Nigiri is a simple type of sushi in which fish is placed on top of rolled sushi rice, but you can do the same thing with kakiage. When making nigiri kakiage, a small piece of the kakiage replaces the fish and is usually secured with a piece of nori wrapped around the sushi piece, and you can also add sauces on top or for dipping.