Tempura Vegetables Recipes

Steps:

• Add all the flour to a bowl. With the handle of a spoon, or a chopstick, mix, and stir in the ice-cold water until the mixture is slightly thicker than buttermilk consistency. Make a point of not mixing thoroughly, as tempura is renowned for lumps of flour.
• Dip sliced vegetables (zucchini, onions, eggplants, carrots, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, string beans, broccoli, wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, and bok choy) any vegetables will work but these are the most commonly used) into the batter mixture and shake off any excess.
• Deep fry vegetables in a wok or deep fat fryer (you can use a frying pan if you do not have anything else, you just need about 7cm/3 inches of clean oil) at 200C/400F/Gas 6 until the batter is light golden in color and crisp. (Any large amounts of hot oil in a kitchen, especially in woks which are not always that sturdy, scare me, please be careful and do not leave the pan unattended.) Turn the vegetables at intervals to ensure that both sides are cooked equally and then fish them out with a slotted spoon, shaking off any excess oil. Place them on kitchen paper towels and eat as soon as possible. The reason that I keep going on about eating them so quickly is because as your hot cooked vegetables cool down inside the batter they begin to steam, making them less crisp as time goes on. Good tempura should be crispy and is one of those things that should be made and cooked quickly and eaten straight away.
• Pour the rice wine vinegar into a small bowl. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Taste for sweetness. Add cilantro, chile, and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and allow to sit for 10 minutes to 1 hour, for flavors to combine.;

Steps:

• Heat two or three inches (more is better) of oil in a deep-fryer or deep saucepan. The oil is ready when it reaches 350 degrees, or when a pinch of flour sizzles immediately. Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup ice; let sit for a minute, then measure 1 cup water from this. Beat lightly with the flour and egg yolks; the batter should be lumpy.
• Dredge the vegetables very lightly in the flour, tapping to remove excess. Then dip them in the batter and immediately put in the oil. You can cook 6 to 8 pieces at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, no more. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately, with lemon wedges and soy sauce if you like.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Make the batter (see right). Cover a baking tray with sheets of kitchen paper. Start to heat a deep-fat frying pan or large wok a third full of oil and have the frying basket, or slotted spoon to hand
• When the oil reaches 190C dip some of the prepared veg briefly into the batter, shake off any excess, then lower straight into the hot oil. Don't crowd the frying basket. Fry for about 2 mins until light golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
• Repeat with the remaining vegetables in batches, dipping into the batter just before you fry them and remember to let the oil heat back up to temperature between each batch. Keep the tempura warm in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar so that they stay crisp. They are best served immediately on a warm plate with the sauce alongside for dipping.

Steps:

• Heat 2 inches oil in a wok or heavy pot over medium heat to 350 degrees.
• Mix yolk with water using fat wooden chopsticks. Add the flour all at once and mix just slightly. There should be large lumps of flour and a rim of flour dust around the bowl. Over mixing will result in a heavy batter coating. It is best to mix the batter in this amount, and repeat as necessary. Prepare ingredients, dry them, and dredge lightly in flour before dipping in batter.
• When oil is hot, dip the vegetables one at a time into batter to coat completely, and then allow excess to drain into bowl. Working in batches, about 6 pieces at a time, and using a spider, carefully submerge vegetables in oil. Cook, turning once, until light golden, puffed and cooked through, about 3 minutes for most vegetables. They should be tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack to drain. Serve with dipping sauce. To serve sweet potato tempura for dessert, sprinkle with sugar and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. As soon as the dipping sauce comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
• Combine the yolks and water in a bowl, mixing until they're incorporated, then add the ice cubes (the "wet" part of the batter). In another bowl or container, add the flour (the "dry" part of the batter).
• When you're almost ready to cook the tempura, reheat dipping sauce over low heat. Grate the daikon on the coarsest side of a box grater. Squeeze out excess liquid and set aside. Grate the ginger finely and set aside. Keep the sauce warm while you prepare a tempura cooking station.
• To prepare a tempura cooking station, beside your burner, arrange the vegetables, a plate with the ½ cup of cake flour, and the wet and dry parts of the batter. Also, ready a tray lined with paper towels or newspaper to absorb the excess oil from the cooked vegetables, and the tools you'll need: chopsticks, a metal strainer, and a candy thermometer, if you have one. Place a cooking vessel on the burner; use one with a uniform size to heat oil evenly, like a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven (don't use a wok). Add the vegetable oil and sesame oil.
• Heat the oil to 360°F over high heat. When the oil has reached 360°F, prepare to cook the vegetables in batches. Be careful not to overfill the skillet, which will lower the cooking temperature; use, at most, half of the surface area of the oil to cook. While the tempura is cooking, check the oil temperature with a candy thermometer. Regulate the heat to maintain a constant 360°F oil temperature. If the oil is too hot, the tempura will burn; if too low, the tempura will come out soggy and greasy.
• When you're ready to cook the tempura, quickly add the flour (the "dry") to the liquid (the "wet"), in one shot. Hold 4 chopsticks together, the tips pointed down, like you're grabbing a bottle. Stab at the batter with the chopsticks, mashing down again and again to combine the dry and wet parts. Do not stir; you barely want to mix the batter. Mix for about 30 seconds, or until the batter becomes loose and liquidy, with the consistency of heavy cream. It should be lumpy, with visible gobs of dry flour floating in the liquid, and with unmixed flour sticking to the sides of the bowl. Remember, if you overmix the batter, you'll ruin it.
• Lightly dredge the vegetables in the reserved cake flour, then dip into the batter. Immediately lay the vegetables in the hot oil. Working in batches, deep-fry the harder vegetables like sweet potato, carrot, or lotus root first, for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables turn golden brown. Transfer the vegetables to the prepared tray to drain excess oil. Repeat with the other vegetables. Cook softer vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, and pumpkin for about 2 minutes. For shiso leaves, dredge only one side of the leaf with flour, and cook for about 1 minute.
• Serve the vegetable tempura with the grated daikon and ginger on the side of the warmed dipping sauce. When you're ready to eat, add the daikon and ginger to the dipping sauce and dip the tempura into it.

Steps:

• Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in sesame oil, soy sauce, and club soda; mix briefly until a loose, lumpy batter forms.