Tempura oysters with sweet and sour onions and poor man's parmesan aioli
INGREDIENTS
"Poor man's parmesan" is a southern Italian substitute for parmesan cheese, using crisp breadcrumbs.
2 cups (500ml) peanut oil
24 oysters (Sydney rock, Pacific or Angassi)
plain flour, for dusting
Sweet and sour onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large (200g) brown onion, sliced thinly
2/3 cup (150g) white sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) balsamic vinegar
sea salt to taste
Poor man’s parmesan aioli
2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
1 drained anchovy, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup (100g) aioli (garlic mayonnaise)
Tempura Batter
½ cup (75g) tempura flour (or plain flour)
¾ cup (180ml) cold sparkling mineral water
METHOD
Sweet and sour onions
Heat oil in pan; add onion, cook, stirring, until just starting to colour. Add sugar and balsamic vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, until reduced to just before jam consistency. Season to taste with salt. Serve chilled or warm.
Poor man’s parmesan aioli
Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan-forced. Mix the breadcrumbs with anchovies, parsley and olive oil in a bowl. Spread the mixture over an oven tray. Bake for about 10 minutes or until dry. Grind in a mortar and pestle, leaving them a little coarse. Combine the aioli with the crumb mixture.
Heat peanut oil to 185°C — use a thermometer to check temperature.
Tempura batter
Put the flour in a bowl; slowly pour in the mineral water while you whisk, until the batter has the consistency of cream.
Remove oysters from shells; pour any liquid out of shells. Dust oysters very lightly in flour; shake off excess flour. Dip the oysters into Tempura Batter, drain off excess batter. Place the oysters into hot oil, cook until crisp and golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serve oysters in shells with Sweet and Sour Onions and Poor Man’s Parmesan Aioli. Sprinkle with a little finely chopped extra parsley, if desired.
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