Vegetable Tempura

Name: Vegetable Tempura
Ingredients: 100 g each of a mix of firm vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces, such as aubergine,; broccoli, baby marrows, mushrooms, red peppers and sweet potatoes; vegetable oil for deep frying; Tempura Batter:; 100 g cake flour; 60 ml (4 tablespoons) corn flour; 200 ml (4/5 cup) ice-cold sparkling water; few ice cubes; Dipping Sauce:; 45 ml (3 tablespoons) soy sauce; 45 ml (3 tablespoons) dry sherry; 15 ml (1 tablespoon) sugar; grated zest of 1 lemon

These crisp Japanese-style treats are great for nibbles or a vegetable main course.

Published 5 August 2023

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 °C (200 °F). Cover a baking tray with a few sheets of kitchen paper.
Make the tempura batter. Sift the flours and salt together into a small mixing bowl. Whisk in the water along with a few ice cubes, but don’t over beat. It doesn’t matter about a few lumps.
Make the dipping sauce. Combine all the ingredients and pour into a small dipping bowl Set aside.
Heat the oil to 190 °C in a saucepan (the saucepan must be about a third full of oil) and have a slotted spoon ready.
Dip same of the prepared vegetables briefly into the batter, shake off any excess, then lower into the oil. Don’t crowd the saucepan. Fry for about 2 minutes, until light golden and crisp, then drain on the kitchen paper.
Repeat with the remaining vegetables in batches, dipping the vegetables just before you fry them. Remember to bring the oil back to temperature before frying the vegetables. Keep the tempura warm in the oven, leaving the oven door slightly ajar so that they stay crisp.
Serve them immediately on a warm platter with the dipping sauce alongside.