Tempura Squid & Prawns with Chilli Salt & Lemon Myrtle Mayo

Crispy batter meets lemony creamy mayonnaise.. and they live happily ever after.

I love lemon myrtle. The ultra versatile Australian native herb can be used in both sweet and savory dishes giving them a delicate lemony flavour. The subtle flavour of lemon myrtle is similar to lemongrass and works particularly well with the chili and a hit of salt. This Aussie-Asian-fusion dish is perfect for balmy nights, cold beers and good friends. 

TempuraPrawn_LemonMyrtleMayo.jpg
 

Serves 2 as main, 4 as snack

Cook time: 10 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

 

INGREDIENTS

2 Squid Tubes

6 Prawns

1 tbs salt flakes

1 tsp dried chilli

Oil for frying
 

Batter

100g rice flour, plus extra for dusting

120g plain flour

400ml soda water, chilled

10 ice cubes

 

Lemon Myrtle Mayonnaise

1 tbs dried lemon myrtle

200ml grapeseed oil

1 egg yolk

½ tbs Dijon mustard

15ml verjuice or lemon juice

salt, to taste

 

To serve

Lemon wedges

Sliced chili

Cold beer

 

METHOD

For the mayonnaise, using a stick blender blitz the eggs and mustard to combine. While blending, slowly add the oil in a steady stream until all the oil has been emulsified. Add the lemon myrtle, verjuice or lemon juice and season with salt to taste. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.

Prepare the seafood. Cut the squid tubes into 1cm rings and shell the prawns. I like to leave their heads on as I quite like to munch on them (weird I know), but you can take them off if preferred. Cut a slice down the back of the prawn and remove the digestion tract.

For the tempura batter, mix together the rice flour, plain flour and salt. Add soda water and ice cubes and stir lightly with a whisk, you want there to still be lumps in the batter.

Combine salt flakes and chili powder, set aside.

Heat oil in saucepan to 180C. Lightly dust the seafood in rice flour then coat in batter. Cook the squid and prawns separately as they will have different cooking times. Fry until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towel and season with salt and chili powder.

Serve immediately with extra lemon wedges and with a cold beer in hand.
 

Notes

Lemon myrtle is available dried from most good supermarkets or health food stores. If you are finding it a bit tricky to get your hands on lemon myrtle try substituting it for dried lemon verbena or lemongrass powder.