Recipe for Crunchy Shrimp Fritters by Asako Yoshida

Asako Yoshida, author of the book Classic Home Cooking from Japan, has taken a different approach to fritters and doughnuts made from soft dough, often enjoyed as a dessert (or snack) by turning them into a savoury snack with no trace of doughnut dough. 

This is replaced by large slices of lotus root, covered in cornstarch before frying. They are filled with pink shrimp paste, the flavour of which is lifted by ginger juice and shiso leaves, also known as Japanese parsley. 

Serves two

Ingredients

100 g fresh shrimp, peeled and cleaned

A little ginger juice (grate some ginger and squeeze out the juice)

5 green shiso leaves or basil leaves

Salt

Section of fresh lotus root, around 5 cm long

Cornstarch, for dusting

Oil, for frying

1 lime

Method

Chop up the shrimp roughly, then go over it again with a knife to chop it into a paste. Put the shrimp paste in a bowl with the ginger juice, finely chopped green shiso or basil leaves and salt, and mix well.

Wash and peel the lotus root section, then slice it into 8 rounds, each about ¼ in (6 mm) thick. Dust the slices thoroughly on both sides with cornstarch.

Spread one quarter of the shrimp paste onto a slice of lotus root, and top with another slice to make a sandwich. Dust the surface of the shrimp paste between the slices with cornstarch too.

Put some oil in a pan or deep frying pan, and heat to 170°C (340°F). 

Put in the lotus root-shrimp sandwiches and deep-fry until crispy and light brown, turning once. Cut each slice in half and serve with half a lime.

Classic Home Cooking from Japan (2020), a recipe book by Asako Yoshida published by Tuttle Publishing.

Asako Yoshida is a chef and founder of the eponymous cookery school in Tokyo, where she teaches the basics of traditional Japanese gastronomy to the capital’s residents. 

Classic Home Cooking from Japan, which contains 80 recipes for beginners, each accompanied by photographs and detailed steps, received the Gourmand Award in 2020, an award that recognises the best cookery and wine books every year.