This was my first time making tempura. Honestly, I was surprised by how easy it is. The most exciting part is that you can tempura anything, including ice cream, cheesecake and a shoestring, and it will be delicious. Keep in mind though, that if you fry large vegetables such as sweet potatoes and butternut squash, slice them into 1″ thick slices, to make sure they get tender inside and golden outside. It’s not something I would make on a weekly or monthly basis; more like once or twice a year. The baby zucchini and zucchini blossoms are from my garden! I planted them and raised them. And I managed to rescue a bunch of them from the squirrels. Such a treat.
Vegetable tempura
Ingredients
Veggies:
- tiny zucchinis - zucchini blossoms, sweet potato, leeks, peppers. Make sure to cut large and hard veggies into smaller chunks.
For the batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups seltzer or sparkling water.
For frying:
- 2 cups canola oil
For the dipping sauce
- 1 small sheet of kombu - seaweed
- 5 dried mushrooms
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin - or rice vinegar
Instructions
- To make the batter: Put the batter ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the oil into a medium-small saucepan over high heat. When the oil is hot (drop a few drops of batter into it; if it sizzles and bubbles, it's hot) lower the heat to medium-high.
- Frying: dip the veggies in the batter, then place them gently in the hot oil. Fry for 1 minute, then, using metal tongs, flip and fry the other side until it’s golden. Remove from the oil and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Dipping sauce: put the kombu and mushrooms in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Stir in the soy sauce and mirin (or rice vinegar) and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Serve in a small bowl on the side with the tempura.
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