Kaki furai

Shucked oysters dried hard, crumbed and fried fast so the inside stays liquid.

Shellfish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains shellfish.

Ingredients

the oysters

• 16 shucked oysters
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons potato starch
• 100 g plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 200 g panko
• oil, for deep frying

to serve

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon capers, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, in wedges
• 150 g white cabbage, shredded

Method

1. FRIED FAST AND HOT, which is the opposite of the tonkatsu on this site. A cutlet needs time at a moderate heat to cook through; an oyster is already edible and only wants its coating set -- 90 seconds at 190C. Give it three minutes and it shrinks to a grey pellet in a bag of crumbs.
2. WASHED IN SALT AND STARCH, not water alone. Toss the oysters with the potato starch and salt, which drags the grit and the slime off, then rinse. Water on its own leaves both.
3. THEN DRY THEM HARD, which is the step that decides whether this works. Oysters hold a great deal of water; pat them and leave them on kitchen paper 10 minutes and pat again. A wet oyster sheds its coating in the oil and spits violently.
4. Flour, then egg, then panko -- the full three stages here, unlike the thin batter the kushikatsu page uses, because something has to grip a slippery oyster.
5. PRESS THE PANKO ON FIRMLY and leave the crumbed oysters 10 minutes before frying, so the coating hydrates slightly and holds together.
6. Oil at 190C, hotter than any other fry in this collection.
7. Four at a time. Crowding drops the temperature and a lower temperature means a longer fry, which is the one thing to avoid.
8. They are done when the crumb is gold and they float -- 90 seconds, sometimes less.
9. Drain on a rack and eat within a minute or two. They go soft faster than any other fried thing here.
10. Tartare from the mayonnaise, capers and shallot; cabbage and lemon on the plate. The inside should still be liquid when you bite it.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes