Serves 4

2 medium courgettes

½ medium aubergine

1 large carrot

½ small Spanish onion

1 egg

120 ml/ 4 fl oz/ ½ cup iced water

115 g/4oz/1 cup plain flour

Salt and ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Sea salt flakes, lemon slices and Japanese say sauce (shoyu) to serve

Using a potato peeler, pare strips of peel from the courgettes and aubergine to give a striped effect.  Cut the courgettes, aubergine and carrot into strips about 7.5 – 10 cm/ 3-4in long and 3 mm/1/8 in wide.

Put the courgettes, aubergine and carrot into a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Leave for about 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly under cold running water.  Drain well.

Thinly slice the onion from top to base, discarding the plump pieces in the middle.  Separate the layers so that there are lots of fine, long strips.  Mix all the vegetables together and season with slat and pepper. 

Make the batter immediately before frying.  Mix the egg and iced water in a bowl, then sift in the flour.  Mix briefly with a fork or chopsticks. Do not over mix; the batter should remain lumpy.  Add the vegetables to the batter and mix to combine. 

Half-fill a wok with oil and heat to 180°C/350°F.  Scoop up one heaped tablespoon of the mixture at a time and carefully lower it into the oil.  Deep-fry in batches for about 3 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.  Drain on kitchen paper. Serve each portion with salt, slices of lemon and a tiny bowl of Japanese soy sauce for dipping.