Moreton bay bug tempura

Tempura is an art form in Japan and as with many specialist Japanese cooking, people train for many years to master the craft.

However, you can easily make tempura at home. Follow these tips and tricks to making tempura batter like a master:

1. The secret to Sokyo's crispy light batter is potato starch, used in combination with tempura flour, which gives it that extra crunch.

2. Our tempura batter doesn't come together like a typical batter. It's really important that the batter is ice cold, so we mix the ingredients with ice cubes.

3. We use sparkling water or soda water to make the batter light.

4. Mix the batter by hand, so it isn't overworked as you don't want it to become doughy.

5. The addition of rice vinegar really makes the flavour of the batter pop.

6. To add a layer of extra crunch, we thin down the batter slightly, then use our fingers to drizzle and "flick" drops of the batter over the tempura to create flakes called tenkasu, which adhere to the tempura like a lacy coat.

7. Tempura should never be cooked to dark golden - you're aiming for a light colour. You can tell when the batter is ready and has sealed around the meat or vegetable by watching the bubbles around the pieces - they will begin to get smaller and smaller.