Japanese cuisine will always have a recipe for tempura, although there are variations for the ingredients. I usually make tempura vegetables. However, it is also possible to make prawn (shrimp) or other seafood tempura. Recently, I had fish tempura at Kurisaki restaurant, and that was delicious! You can’t really go wrong, but keeping the batter cold and the right consistency are the keys to light and crispy tempura. Alternatively, the batter can be made using a box of tempura batter which only requires water. However, I prefer to make the recipe at home so I can adjust the consistency and flavour.
Sometimes we skip the sauce, but it adds some extra flavour for dipping. Additionally. for reheating, it is best to use the oven or an air fryer, because the microwave will just make the tempura soggy.
Ingredients
Batter
1 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. water, chilled
1 tsp salad oil
Vegetables
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced in rounds about 1/2 cm thick
1 green or red pepper, de-seeded and cut into eight wedges
1 aubergine, cut into rounds about 1 cm thick
Handful of green beans with the ends cut off
Broccoli florets
Onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
Vegetable oil for frying
Sauce
1 c hot water
1 packet of dashi, fish broth powder
2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp mirin
1 tsp sake
Instructions
First, in a large bowl, combine all of the batter ingredients. Then put the batter in the refrigerator and keep it cold until ready to use.
In the meantime, make the dipping sauce. Combine all ingredients and set aside.
Next heat oil, about 2 inches deep, in a saucepan over medium heat. Then dip the vegetables in the batter. Shake off the excess batter. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all vegetables or batter are finished.
Note: You can also fry shrimp/prawns or other seafood. For those, since they can have more moisture, I recommend to coat with a little flour and then dip in the batter.
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