Go to a Japanese restaurant, and you are bound to enjoy shrimp and vegetables fried in tempura batter. Tempura is one of the best-known foods in Japanese cuisine.
Tempura is most often served in Japanese restaurants. Fresh vegetables like sweet potatoes, zucchini, squash, onions, and more are deep-fried in a crispy batter. If you go to a Japanese restaurant and some Chinese restaurants you are bound to find tempura inspired items on the menu.
Homemade Tempura Batter
Did you know it’s super easy to make tempura? Tempura is a light and crispy batter that is made with flour and often ice water to help it get a very light texture. You can use specialty flours sold in supermarkets designed to super crispy tempura, but regular flour will work if you do not stir the batter too much. Stirring that batter too much will result in a batter that isn’t as light because the gluten becomes activated with lots of stirring of the batter.
What do you need to deep fry?
Ideally, you should have a small deep fryer. I love my t-Fal deep fryer. It does a great job of keeping the hot oil at the same temperature. It also has a handy strainer to you can strain out the cooked bits, so you can use your oil again. If you don’t have a deep fryer, you can use a deep pot, and a thermometer to ensure to keep the temperature at the right temperature.
I also recommend using a wire rack to drain what I have just cooked instead of using a paper towel. When you put hot food on paper towels it tends to steam, and you lose the crispy crust you just spent time working on.
What should you dip into tempura batter?
Root vegetables like sweet potatoes, yams, daikon radish, and onions are great candidates for cooking in tempura. Broccoli florets, broccolini, and carrots are also perfect to deep fat fry with tempura batter.
What should you serve tempura vegetables with?
You may want to dip your tempura vegetables into soy sauce, wasabi, or even ponzu sauce. Some people like to create a dipping sauce with equal parts of soy sauce and dry sherry.
Love Japanese recipes? Try these favorite recipes.
Shrimp Tempura
Chicken Katsu
Benihana’s Hibachi Steak
Benihana Fried Rice
Japanese Salad Dressing
Tempura Batter
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 2 cups club soda
- 1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (such as parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary)
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Know you can fry up vegetables, seafood, or anything else you desire.
- Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees.
- Dip vegetables into the batter, and deep fry the vegetables until they are a pale golden brown.
- Drain cooked vegetables on a wire rack.
Sheila says
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Nancy says
I omitted the herbs and sesame seeds and deep fried oreos, chocolate chip cookies and even a chocolate donut! The doughnut did not work so well but everything else was wonderful!