Hi, I’m Francis,
the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."
First, let’s prepare the sardine fillet.
With a paper towel, remove the excess moisture thoroughly.
Remove the tail fin.
Check out the skin-side and you’ll see this back fin.
To remove this, cut out the middle of the fillet lengthwise.
Then, cut the fillet into 4 pieces.
Next, mince the umeboshi, pickled plum with a knife
until it turns into a paste.
Cover the sardines with the umeboshi paste evenly.
Then, coat them with the mayonnaise.
Now, place each fillet onto a shiso leaf in a tray.
Wrap the fillet with the shiso
and place them with the seam-side down.
Sprinkle any type of wheat flour
on both sides of the shiso wrapped sardines.
And now, let’s make the batter.
Put 2 tablespoons of ice water into a bowl.
Combine the flour and potato or corn starch
and add it to the ice water.
Leave some pockets of flour in the batter
and avoid overmixing.
This will help the batter to have a crispy texture.
Drop a small bit of batter into the oil
to check if the temperature has reached about 170 °C or 340 °F.
Now, coat each sardine with the batter
and place it into the oil.
When the outside begins to get crispy, flip the pieces over.
Deep-fry them until they are lightly colored.
Remove the Shiso Wrapped Sardines
and place them onto a cooling rack.
Arrange the pieces in a basket.
Finally, granish with the momiji leaves and the lemon wedge.
Using ice water and a small amount of potato starch for the batter
will help make the outside crispy.
Those who don't like the taste of umeboshi may still enjoy this dish.
If sardines are not available,
try beef, pork, chicken or other types of fish for this recipe.
Good luck in the kitchen.