30mDemon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)
Tanjiro's Miso Yaki Onigiri
Bento & Rice Dishes · Easy
Rengoku's Kakiage Tempura Soba
- Prep
- 20m
- Cook
- 25m
- Total
- 45m
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Medium
Mugen Train Arc Season 2 Episode 1 — the Flame Hashira prequel — shows Kyojuro Rengoku at a city soba counter before his mission, demolishing a huge golden kakiage with chopsticks and that famous Umai. That mixed vegetable-and-shrimp fritter over hot buckwheat noodles is this bowl. (In the Mugen Train film he eats Gyūnabe bentō on the train, not kakiage — fans often mix the two scenes.)
Kakiage means scraping mixed scraps into hot oil so they fry as one lacy disc. Sweet potato julienne, onion, green beans, and shrimp get a dry flour coat (uchiko) so the batter sticks, then a cold flour-katakuriko batter with no egg. The kakejiru follows the usual hot-soba ratio: 800 ml dashi with about 80 ml Japanese soy and 75 ml hon-mirin (10:1:1), plus a pinch of sugar if your mirin is dry.
Plan about 20 minutes of prep and 25 at the stove for two bowls. Fry the kakiage last, cook the soba, then pour broth only when you sit down — the noodles go slack fast, and the fritter should still crunch when Rengoku would already be asking for seconds.
Ingredients
Recipe ingredients
- 200 g (2 servings)
- Raw ShrimpKey70 g
peeled; cut large ones in half
- Dashi StockKey800 ml
- 5 tbsp (80 ml)
- 5 tbsp (75 ml)
Pantry staples
Salt, oil, butter, and other basics you likely already have — scaled with servings above.
- Sweet potato · fine julienne, 2–3 mm70 g
- Yellow onion½ (about 75 g)
- Green beans40 g
- All-purpose flour · 1 tbsp dry coat + 5 tbsp batter6 tbsp
- Katakuriko (potato starch)2 tbsp
- Water · ice-cold for batter70 ml
- Neutral oil · for frying (~3 cm depth in a medium pan)2–3 cups
- Granulated sugar · optional, if broth needs balance1 tsp
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Instructions
- 1
Cut the vegetables
Peel 70 g sweet potato and cut into fine julienne about 2–3 mm thick so it cooks with the shrimp and onion. Slice ½ onion (about 75 g) into thin wedges. Trim 40 g green beans and cut each in half.
- 2
Prep the shrimp
Pat 70 g raw shrimp dry. Cut large ones into 2–3 pieces so they bind in the kakiage instead of falling out.
- 3
Dry-coat the filling
Toss the shrimp, onion, sweet potato, and green beans in a bowl with 1 tbsp dry all-purpose flour until lightly dusted — this uchiko layer helps the batter cling.
- 4
Mix the batter and bind
In a cold bowl, stir the remaining 5 tbsp all-purpose flour and 2 tbsp katakuriko. Pour in 70 ml ice-cold water and mix only until barely combined — lumps are correct. Fold the dry-coated filling into the batter so every piece is thinly coated, not swimming.
- 5
Fry the kakiage
Heat 2–3 cups neutral oil (about 3 cm depth in a medium pan) to 170°C. Scoop a large spoonful onto a spider strainer, hold it in the oil 3–4 seconds so the disc sets, then release. Fry 3–4 minutes until deep gold, turning once with the spider. Repeat for 4 fritters. Drain on a wire cooling rack.
- 6
Simmer the broth
Bring 800 ml dashi stock to a gentle simmer. Stir in 5 tbsp (80 ml) Japanese soy and 5 tbsp (75 ml) hon-mirin — roughly a 10:1:1 kakejiru ratio. Add 1 tsp sugar if the broth tastes flat. Simmer 2–3 minutes more. Keep hot.
- 7
Cook the soba
Boil 200 g dried soba noodles per package time minus 30 seconds. Drain well in a strainer. Do not let them sit.
- 8
Assemble at the last second
Divide noodles into 2 bowls. Set two kakiage on each. Ladle hot broth over only when you are ready to eat — Rengoku would not wait, and neither should the crunch.
Pro tips
Toss the shrimp and cut vegetables with 1 tbsp dry flour before you add wet batter — that uchiko layer stops the kakiage from barabara in the oil. Keep the batter cold and lumpy; extra stirring makes a bready crust. Lift each disc with a spider strainer and drain on a wire rack, not paper towels. Hold each spoonful in the 170°C oil for 3–4 seconds so the disc sets before you let go. Usukuchi soy keeps the broth paler; koikuchi tastes the same and browns it a little. Never let cooked soba wait in the bowl without broth — assemble at the table.
Storage & leftovers
Kakiage is best the minute it leaves the rack. Leftover fritters reheat in a 180°C oven or air fryer for 4–5 minutes — a microwave turns them soggy. Broth keeps 3 days refrigerated. Cook soba fresh per bowl.
What to serve with
Pickled ginger and a cup of barley tea — standing-soba energy. A small mound of grated daikon on the side cuts the fry if you want it.
Equipment
All kitchen equipment guidesFAQ
Season 2 Episode 1 (Mugen Train Arc TV prequel) — at a noodle stand in town before boarding, he eats kakiage tempura soba with that Umai reaction. In the Mugen Train film he devours Gyūnabe beef bentō on the train, not this fritter. This recipe matches the TV soba-counter scene.
