Tempura oysters with kelp & miso sauce

by Metropol | August 19, 2026 8:35 am

Delicate and delicious, this beautiful dish of tempura oysters is great when you want your sharing platters to feel elevated.

Ingredients
• 1/2 sheet dried nori
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 fresh small lime, zest only
• 100g flaky sea salt

Miso dipping sauce
• 60g miso paste
• 20ml rice wine vinegar
• 60ml water
• 3 fresh lemons, juiced, zest of 1
• 50ml soy sauce
• 1/2 spring onion, finely chopped

Tempura
• 1 egg
• 1 cup ice water
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 24 NZ Pacific oysters, half shell
• Oil for frying

Method

Kelp seasoning
1. Toast the nori sheet in a non-stick pan till it becomes very crispy. As it cools, it should crumble very easily.
2. Remove from the pan, add the sesame seeds and lightly toast.
3. Place the nori and sesame seeds in a spice grinder and blend till very fine.
4. Remove and combine with the lime zest and salt in a small plastic sealed bag.
5. Shake the bag so the lime zest oil is infused through the mixture.

Miso dipping sauce
1. Place all the ingredients except the spring onion into a small saucepan and bring up to a slow simmer, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.
2. As soon as it reaches a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. Add the spring onions and mix through.

Tempura batter
1. Beat an egg in a bowl.
2. Add ice water.
3. Add sifted flour to the bowl and mix lightly, not overmixing the batter.

Cooking the tempura oysters
1. In a deep fryer, deep saucepan, or wok, preheat cooking oil to 180°C.
2. Remove the oysters from their shells, place on a paper towel and lightly pat dry.
3. Set the shells on a plate.
4. Dip the oysters in fresh tempura batter and cook in the oil until the batter is crispy.
5. Remove from the oil and place on a dry paper towel.
6. Return the cooked oysters to the shell and season with kelp mixture.
7. Serve hot with the miso dipping sauce, extra seasoning and lemon wedges.
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This recipe is courtesy of Seafood NZ, the home of the New Zealand Seafood industry. For more recipes using a variety of local seafood, go to seafood.co.nz

Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/tempura-oysters-with-kelp-miso-sauce/

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