Recipe - Beer-Batter Tempura With Dipping Sauce

1 One half cup Beer; (not dark)
1 One half cup Cake flour; (not
selfrising)
1 One half teaspoon Salt
12 lg Shrimp; shelled and
; deveined
2 small Sweet potatoes
Vegetable oil for
deepfrying
2 small Red bell peppers; cut into
; 3/4inchthick
; rings
12 Asparagus spears; trimmed

DIPPING SAUCE
One half cup Soy sauce
2 teaspoon Sugar
2 tablespoon Rice vinegar
2 tablespoon Sliced scallions
1 tablespoon Minced ginger

In a bowl whisk beer into flour until smooth and stir in salt. Make
several shallow cuts across the inside curve of each shrimp and press
shrimp gently ( to help prevent curling during the cooking). Peel
sweet potato and cut crosswise into 1/4inch thick slices.

In a 3quart saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees. Working in
batches of 3 or 4 pieces, dredge shrimp, sweet potato slices, bell
pepper rings and asparagus spears in batter to coat completely,
letting excess drip off and fry, turning, until golden, about 3
minutes. Transfer tempura as fried to brown paper with tongs to drain
and season with salt. Serve with dipping sauce (recipe follows).

Yield: 4