Tempura is a Japanese type of savory fritter. Originally, in tempura, prawns were used but vegetables can also be cooked in the egg batter effectively and deliciously. The secret of making the incredibly light batter to use chilled water and have the oil at the right temperature before you start cooking the fritters or vegetable tempura.
SERVESÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4
Ingredients:
Vegetable Tempura Recipe
1 large carrot
2 aubergine
2 courgetts
½ small onion
1 egg
1 cup plain flour
½ cup iced water
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Lemon slices, sea salt flakes and (shoyu) Japanese soy sauce, to serve
Preparation Method:
Vegetable Tempura Recipe
Peel off the pare strips from aubergine and courgettes by using a potato peeler.
Using a sharp knife, cut the aubergine, courgette and carrot into strips about 8-10 cm long and 3 mm wide. Place all of them in a colander and sprinkle in the salt. Put a small plate over and weight it down. Leave them for 30 minutes then rinse. Drain then dry with absorbent or kitchen paper.
Thinly slice the onion from top to base, discard the plum pieces of the middle. Separate the layers so that there are lots of fines and long strips are available. Mix all the vegetables together and season with salt 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 mix well to get the coat.
Take a deep frying pan with half-filled oil and heat to 180 C. Scoop up the vegetables in a spoon and carefully drop into the heated cooking oil. Start deep frying in several batches for about 3 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Take out from the frying pan and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve each portion with salt, lemon slices with a small bowl of Japanese soy sauce for dipping.
Cook’s Tip: Vegetable Tempura Recipe
Other suitable vegetables for tempura include mushrooms and a slice of green, red, yellow or orange pepper. Originally in tempura, prawns were used and it started in Japan.
Read: Crispy Fried Vegetable Recipe
