Vegetable Tempura Food

TEMPURA VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Place your water and ice cubes into a glass and let them combine. If you're already using water that's very cold, then you can skip this step.
• Pour your flour, egg, and cold water into a large bowl.
• Stir together until just combined, but make sure that you don't over-mix. The mixture doesn't need to be smooth and can be a little lumpy.
• Before you start dipping the vegetables into your batter, make sure that they're all peeled and sliced into thin pieces.
• Lightly coat your vegetable pieces with flour. This step is optional, but it can help the batter stick to your veg better.
• Pour oil into a large wok or saucepan until it's one-third full, and heat over medium-high heat.
• Dip vegetables into the batter one at a time to lightly coat, starting with the root vegetables (any veg that's grown underground).
• Gently shake off any excess batter, as too much batter will make your tempura too crispy on the outside and too mushy on the inside.
• Add your veggie slices to the saucepan a few pieces at a time and begin deep frying. Don't add too many pieces, as this will drop the temperature of the oil.
• Fry root vegetables for 3-4 mins and non-root vegetables for 1-2 mins, or until the batter is crispy and golden. Turn each piece about halfway to cook both sides.
• Your shiso leaves will fry very fast, so sprinkle a little flour onto the back of the leaves and dip only the back into the batter. Deep fry for 15 seconds.
• Transfer your tempura veg onto a cooling rack or plate lined with paper towels to remove any excess oil.
• Serve immediately with dipping sauce or as a dish with rice or noodles, and enjoy!

VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Steps:

• Mix the salt, flour, and water together until smooth and no lumps. (Use cold because it helps the batter/veggies absorb less oil).
• Place in freezer.
• Prepare vegetables by peeling and slicing.
• Pour the oil into a pan and heat over medium heat.
• When oil is hot, dip veggies in batter then oil.
• Fry until lightly browned.
• Do small amounts at a time. It will be less messy and much easier to manage.

SHRIMP AND VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Steps:

• Refrigerate a large bowl until chilled, about 15 minutes.
• For the dipping sauce (tentsuyu): Bring the Dashi, mirin and soy sauce to a boil in a small saucepan. Set aside until ready to serve, then divide among 4 small bowls. Place the grated daikon in a small dish.
• For the shrimp and vegetables: Assemble the chilled shrimp, green beans, mushrooms, shishitos, sweet potatoes and onions on 2 large plates.
• Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large wok or deep, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 360 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels or a wire rack and place near the wok.
• For the batter: When the oil is almost ready, sift the cake flour and potato starch into the chilled bowl. Whisk the water and egg in a small bowl (or in the water measuring cup) until completely combined. Using chopsticks or a large fork, stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until barely combined and lumps of flour still remain. (Better to undermix than overmix, so err on the side of caution.) The batter should be the thickness of cream; add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water if needed. Mix in the ice cubes.
• Working with several pieces of the shrimp and vegetables at a time, dip them into the batter, then gently lay them in the oil away from you. (It's important not to overcrowd and to maintain the temperature of the oil; adjust the heat, as needed.) Fry, flipping them once or twice, until pale golden brown and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes (some ingredients may take longer than others); transfer to the lined baking sheet. Serve the tempura immediately (ideally, one person will continue frying while the lucky others get to eat the tempura at its best!) with the bowls of dipping sauce and grated daikon on the side for people to stir into the sauce, if they like. Continue with the remaining ingredients, skimming the surface of the oil as needed.
• Combine the kombu and 3 cups cold water in a medium saucepan and let sit for about 30 minutes. (You can skip this step if you're short on time, but it does lend a little extra flavor.)
• Heat the mixture over medium heat until the water comes to a near boil but doesn't actually boil, about 5 minutes. Discard the kombu.
• Add the katsuobushi evenly over the water and bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately remove from the heat. Let steep for about 10 minutes without stirring.
• Pour the dashi through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or quart measuring cup. Do not press down on the katsuobushi, which can make the dashi cloudy or bitter.
• Dashi is best used the day it is made, but it can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

SHRIMP AND VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Steps:

• Microwave 1 cup water and the bouillon cube in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup, 2 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
• Heat 2 inches peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fry thermometer registers 380 degrees F. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, seltzer, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until almost smooth. Add 1 cup ice cubes and stir until they just begin to melt. Put the cornstarch in a shallow dish. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• Working in batches, dredge one-third of the shrimp and vegetables in the cornstarch, then dip in the batter to coat, letting the excess drip off. Fry until crisp and lightly golden, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the prepared baking sheet to drain. Let the oil return to 380 degrees F, then repeat with the remaining shrimp and vegetables. Serve with the dipping sauce.

VEGETABLE TEMPURA

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.

VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the club soda and whisk until the batter is smooth. If the batter is too thick, add an ice cube to help thin it out.
• Cut the firm vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes into 1/8 inch slices. For softer vegetables, 1/4 inch will do.
• Pour enough oil into a medium saucepan to measure about 2 inches. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the pan and heat the oil to 350°F Line a plate with a double layer of paper towels.
• Working in batches, drop a few slices of vegetables into the batter. Stir gently to coat. Using tongs or chopsticks, lift the food from the batter, allowing excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Carefully add a few pieces to the hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Turn vegetables occasionally and fry until lightly golden on all sides, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Let temperature heat back up to 350F in between batches. Transfer tempura to paper towels. Season with salt and serve with ponzu sauce.

VEGETABLE TEMPURA WITH SOY & DIPPING SAUCE

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.