1 large egg ẳ cup 80-proof vodka ẵ cup ice-cold club soda 4 cups thinly sliced vegetables or 1 pound shrimp (see Note above) Lemon wedges or 1 recipe Honey-Miso Mayonnaise (recipe follows) Heat the oil to 375F in a large wok over high heat, then adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the temperature Line a large plate or baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels Combine the cornstarch, flour, and teaspoon salt in a large bowl and stir with chopsticks to blend Combine the egg and vodka in a small bowl and whisk until completely homogeneous Add the club soda and stir with chopsticks until barely combined Immediately add to the bowl with the flour and, holding the bowl with one hand and the chopsticks in the other, shake the bowl back and forth while vigorously stirring with the chopsticks until the liquid and dry ingredients are just barely combined There should still be many bubbles and pockets of dry flour Add the vegetables (and/or shrimp) to the batter and fold with your hand to coat Pick up the vegetables a few pieces at a time, allowing excess batter to drip off, and transfer to the hot oil, getting your hand as close as possible to the surface before letting go in order to minimize splashing Increase the heat to high to maintain the temperature as close to 350°F as possible, and add the remaining vegetables (and/or shrimp) a few pieces at a time Immediately start agitating them with chopsticks or a wine-mesh spider, separating the vegetables, flipping them, and constantly exposing them to fresh oil Continue frying until the batter is completely crisp and pale blond, about 1 minute Transfer the tempura to a paper-towel-lined plate or baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt Serve with lemon wedges or honey-miso mayonnaise Honey-Miso Mayonnaise At Clio, Ken Oringer used to serve the house vegetable tempura with a choice of two dipping sauces: a traditional tentsuyu (made with a Japanese bonito-and-kelp broth, soy sauce, and mirin) and a honey-miso aioli This recipe is based on the latter, though I’ve stripped it down a bit, into a simple five-ingredient mayonnaise The result is a balanced sweet-and-savory sauce that is light enough to go perfectly with fried shrimp and vegetables but tasty enough that, well, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon in the middle of the night by the pale glow of the refrigerator light NOTE: For this recipe, it’s important that you use white miso paste (preferably Kyoto-style saikyo miso) Darker miso paste is too strong in flavor and will throw the sauce out of balance MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP 1 large egg yolk ... vegetables (and/or shrimp) a few pieces at a time Immediately start agitating them with chopsticks or a wine-mesh spider, separating the vegetables, flipping them, and constantly exposing them to... you’ll want to eat it with a spoon in the middle of the night by the pale glow of the refrigerator light NOTE: For this recipe, it’s important that you use white miso paste (preferably Kyoto-style saikyo miso) Darker miso paste is too strong in flavor and will throw the sauce... At Clio, Ken Oringer used to serve the house vegetable tempura with a choice of two dipping sauces: a traditional tentsuyu (made with a Japanese bonito-and-kelp broth, soy sauce, and mirin) and a honey-miso aioli