Tempura Vegetables And/or Shrimp

Ingredients

• 2 quarts peanut oil or vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup 80-proof vodka
• 1/2 cup ice-cold club soda
• 4 cups thinly sliced vegetables or 1 pound shrimp
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a large wok over high heat until it reaches 375 degrees F (191 degrees C), then move the heat up or down as needed to hold it there. Set a large plate or baking sheet beside the stove and cover it with a double layer of paper towels. In a large bowl, mix the cornstarch, flour, and 1 teaspoon salt with chopsticks. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the vodka until smooth and fully blended. Pour in the club soda and use chopsticks to stir it just until it comes together. Add this mixture to the flour right away; with one hand on the bowl and chopsticks in the other, rock the bowl back and forth while stirring briskly, stopping when the wet and dry ingredients are only barely mixed. You want plenty of bubbles and little patches of dry flour still hanging around.
2. Add the vegetables and/or shrimp to the batter, then use your hand to gently fold everything until coated. Lift out a few pieces at a time, let the extra batter fall back into the bowl, and lower them into the hot oil, bringing your hand close to the surface before releasing so the oil splatters less. Turn the heat back to high so the oil stays as near 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) as you can manage, then continue adding the remaining vegetables and/or shrimp in small batches. Right away, move the pieces around with chopsticks or a wire mesh spider, nudging them apart, turning them over, and keeping fresh oil moving around them. Fry until the coating is fully crisp and pale blond, about 1 minute.
3. Move the tempura to the paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet, and season it with salt immediately. Serve with lemon wedges.