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Last year I planned which chilies to grow, although I did not have any previous experience with their taste. That's why I chose 'famous' names like Serrano or Habanero or beautiful pictures like Black Prince or Aurora.
But when I read about Shishito pepper, I decided to grow it for one purpose: cooking tempura.

A friend gave me the seeds, and when the first green peppers were ready to be harvested, they didn't disappoint me at all.

They're not so hot (like Jalapeno) and harvested when green are crisp and delicious.
I will definitely grow them next year too.

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Shishito Tempura with Lemon Grass

Ingredients
Serves two:
200g rice
6 green Shishito peppers
10 sage leaves
4 carrots
200g beef leftovers from broth
chives garlic (Nira)
milk
all-purpose flour
soya sauce
sakè
1 lemon grass stem
peanut oil

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Directions
Cook the rice in boiling salted water and drain it well.
Meanwhile prepare the ingredients:
-cut carrots into thin slices lengthwise
-cut shishito peppers in half
-stem the sage leaves
-cut the beef into stripes
Prepare a batter with flour and milk. The batter should be fluid but not too wet.
Place the carrot slices in the batter and fry them on both sides in peanut oil, until golden brown. Set aside.
Repeat with other ingredients: shishito, sage leaves, beef.
Add some sakè and minced lemon grass to soya sauce. A teaspoon of aromatic white vinegar will taste good also.
Put cooked rice and fried ingredients in plates, as shown in the picture. Garnish with Nira garlic and serve with the sauce.

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Similar recipes:
Vegetarian Tempura with Nira
Buckwheat Tempura (Il meglio in cucina - Best Cuisine)

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This goes to Ulrike from Kuchenlatein who's hosting this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging.
This event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen.

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