Ingredients
Serves 4-6120g soba noodles
Iced water
1 cup flour
1 egg yolk
⅔ cup water
⅔ cup ice cubes
20 large fresh prawns (about 350g), peeled and deveined
2 tbsp cornflour
Oil for deep frying
Dipping Sauce
½ cup light soy sauce
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp caster sugar
2 small red chillies, deseeded, deveined and finely chopped
Method
Make the dipping sauce first. Combine all ingredients in a screw top jar or small bowl and shake or stir until the sugar is dissolved. Chill until ready to serve.
Boil the soba noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water for 5-7 mins until soft. Drain and immediately plunge noodles in ice water to cool. Drain and set aside.
Combine the flour, egg yolk and water in a mixing bowl, and whisk to a smooth batter. Add ice cubes and whisk until well blended.
Lightly coat each prawn with cornflour. Dip a few soba noodles in the batter, remove excess batter and wrap each prawn in the coated noodles. Repeat with remaining prawns.
Heat the oil in a wok until it reaches 190°C on a cooking thermometer or a small cube of bread becomes golden within 20 seconds. Cook the noodle-wrapped prawns, a few at a time, into the hot oil and deep fry for about 2 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel. Serve hot with dipping sauce.
Notes:
This is a form of prawn tempura which is visually more appealing due to the tangle of noodles each prawn is wrapped in. Ice in the batter is the secret to a very light and crisp coating. Make sure you serve these as quickly as possible after cooking while they are still hot and crunchy. The dipping sauce could be varied to your individual taste with the addition of coriander or mint or sesame oil.