(Tempura) Batter Up!

Kenji Seki, the owner of Noa Noa in Beverly Hills, scratched his head when asked about the tempura ice cream found in Japanese restaurants. “What is it?” he asked. Then he remembered. “Ah, yes,” he said, “tempura ice cream made with tempura batter and panko , right?”

Would he, we asked, show us how to prepare the intriguing dessert? Seki agreed and liked the results so much he now offers the dessert as an occasional special on his menu.

The dessert is actually a Japanese-style rendition of Mexican fried ice cream, but here the ice cream is coated with a tempura batter before being fried. And instead of the cracker crumbs used in the Mexican version, you use panko , flaky Japanese bread crumbs, to coat the batter. The result is a light and airy dessert you can assemble ahead, freeze, and cook in seconds for a dazzling finale to a party menu.

NOA NOA TEMPURA ICE CREAM

1 small egg

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup sifted flour

Dash sugar

4 small scoops ice cream (No. 12 scoop), frozen

1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Oil for deep frying

Beat egg in bowl. Add water, flour and sugar, beating until smooth. Using perforated spoon, dip ice cream scoop in tempura batter, then sprinkle lightly with panko. Freeze until firm.

When ready to serve, heat oil to 375 degrees (hot) and fry ice cream scoops, without crowding pan, until light golden brown on all sides. Ice cream scoops will brown within seconds. Remove at once with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.

Place at once in serving dish and garnish as desired with leaves or flower blossoms. Makes 4 servings.

Note: For convenience, tempura batter mix is available at Oriental counters in supermarkets instead of the egg, water and flour batter described above. Panko bread crumbs are also available at the Oriental food counters of most supermarkets and at Japanese food stores.