Shrimp Tempura with ginger-soy dipping sauce

The following recipe owes much to the Serious Eats website who, to the best of my knowledge, popularized the use of vodka in the batter. When water (in this case seltzer) and flour are mixed, the proteins in the flour form gluten, which provides structure. But too much stirring or too many minutes sitting develops the gluten and makes a heavy batter. Because vodka is about 60 percent water and 40 percent alcohol (which does not combine with protein to form gluten), it keeps gluten formation