← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• ½ Onion, thinly sliced
• ½ Carrot, cut into 5 cm matchsticks
• ½ small sweet potato, cut into 5 cm matchsticks
• 1 handful Green beans, thinly sliced (optional)
• 4 Shiso (Japanese perilla) leaves, shredded (optional)
• 2 tbsp flour, for dusting the vegetables
• 120 g plain or cake flour
• 2 tbsp potato starch or cornflour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 200 ml ice-cold water
• 1 l neutral oil, for deep-frying
• flaky salt or tempura dipping sauce, to serve

Method

1. Put all the cut vegetables in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp flour so every piece is lightly dusted. This helps the batter stick.
2. Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F) in a deep pan.
3. Quickly mix the flour, starch, salt and iced water with chopsticks into a thin, lumpy batter; do not overmix. Pour about two thirds of it over the vegetables and fold to coat.
4. Scoop a portion onto a flat spatula or large spoon, shape it into a loose round and slide it gently into the oil. Fry 2–3 at a time for 1–2 min until the bottom sets, then flip.
5. Fry for 2–3 min more, turning once or twice, until crisp and golden, and poke a few holes in the middle with a chopstick so it cooks through. Drain on a rack.
6. Serve right away with salt or dipping sauce, or on top of hot udon or soba.

Tips

• Ice-cold water and minimal mixing keep the batter light; add an ice cube to the bowl while you fry.
• Add small prawns or dried baby sardines for the seafood version. Contains wheat. Tempura dipping sauce (tentsuyu) is usually made with bonito dashi; serve with salt, or make the sauce with kombu dashi, to keep it vegan.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Japanese Cooking 101 Chopstick Chronicles RecipeTin Japan