The Best Vegetable Tempura
Thank you, Calphalon, for sponsoring this post!
I’m almost home!!! I’m wrapping up a week in New York City and flying back to San Francisco, where I will be staying put until the holidays! I wish I was better at “vlogging” so I could share all the little moments of my days while on this book tour but I’m too in the moment I guess and keep forgetting to take pictures and videos of things. Oh well. I’ll share what I did capture soon! Just give me a few days to veg around in soft pants first.
Did someone say veg and soft pants?! That sounds like a perfect segue into this Veggie Tempura recipe! Honestly, I would give just about anything to eat a platter of fried broccoli in soft pants right now. This recipe is easy and fun to make! It features the crispiest tempura batter and it’s perfect for all your deep fry dreams.
Eat Your Vegetables!
The majority of the prep for this recipe is slicing your vegetables. As I said, the batter is really wonderful for just about anything and is enough for quite a bit of vegetables, enough to serve 4 to 6 people.
Here’s what I used and how I prepped them:
1 delicata squash, cut into 1/2” rings with seeds removed
1 large white onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2” rings
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets and stem sliced into 1/4” thick strips
1/2 lb brussel sprouts, ends trimmed
1 bundle of asparagus, ends trimmed
If you want to make tempura shrimp, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, or whatever is left in your vegetable crisper, do it. I support you!
I genuinely believe that a good quality sharp knife is life changing in the kitchen. Not only is it safer, but it makes cooking and prepping ingredients so much quicker and more fun! For all the veggies, I grabbed the santoku (Japanese chef knife) from my Calphalon Precision Self-Sharpening Cutlery Set and it was perfect. The sharp tip is great for trimming the ends off of the brussels sprouts and the sturdy blade cuts through heartier vegetables like delicata squash like butter. You can use the code KRISTINA25 for 25% off your order at Calphalon.com!
Batter Up!
This tempura batter is delicate, light, and soooo crispy! It’s a blend of egg yolks (save the whites for breakfast), ice water, all-purpose flour, and cornstarch. It’s important to not over mix the batter, to keep it light. It’s good to see a few lumps in the batter. I make the batter right before I fry, for some reason if you let the batter rest or warm up too much the batter just isn’t as good.
The recipe makes a decent amount of batter, enough for a party! If you can easily half the recipe if you’re planning on frying less vegetables.
A little brightness
Fried food typically needs some contrast. I like to include something bright and acid to pick things up a bit. I’ll squeeze some fresh lemon on the tempura but a smear of kewpie mayo mixed with lemon zest and a sprinkle of furikake is incredible! It’s creamy, tangy, and a little sweet from the furikake. It’s the perfect dipping situation for your tempura party!
The Crispiest Vegetable Tempura
Serves 4 to 6
Vegetables:
1 delicata squash, cut into 1/2” rings with seeds removed
1 large white onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2” rings
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets and stem sliced into 1/4” thick strips
1/2 lb brussel sprouts, ends trimmed
1 bundle of asparagus, ends trimmed
Batter:
400g (1 3/4 cups) ice water
40g (2 Large) egg yolks
200g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
25g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
Vegetable or canola oil for frying
1/4 cup kewpie mayo
1 tbsp lemon zest
Furikake, for serving
Prep all the vegetables and set aside
Over medium high heat, heat oil in a deep pot to 360-degrees. Reduce heat to maintain temperature. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set a wire rack on top.
Right before frying, in a medium bowl, whisk to combine ice water and egg yolks. Add flour and cornstarch and lightly mix until just a few lumps remain.
Working in batches, dip the vegetables in the batter, shaking off any excess and carefully lower into the hot oil. Heartier vegetables like squash and brussel sprouts will fry for 2 to 3 minutes and more delicate vegetables like onion rings and asparagus will fry for 60 to 90 seconds.
Transfer the tempura vegetables to the wire rack to cool and continue frying remaining vegetables.
In a small bowl mix to combine kewpie mayo and lemon zest. Smear on a platter or serve on the side. Arrange the tempura vegetables on the platter and sprinkle on some furikake.