Crispy and Delicious Vegetable Tempura
Crispy and Delicious Vegetable Tempura
How to Make the Best Vegetable Tempura with Sweet Potato, Onion, and Perilla Leaves
Hello everyone! This is Henri’s sister, your go-to expert for all things fried. Today, I’m really craving some delicious vegetable tempura! Luckily, I have all the ingredients right at home. Thanks to Henri, I always have sweet potatoes on hand. I’ve loved fried food since I was a child and used to fry everything I could get my hands on. Today, I’ll share a simple and golden recipe for making amazing vegetable tempura at home!
Main Ingredients- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1/2 onion
- 1/3 carrot
- 2 perilla leaves (or more, to taste)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, let’s prepare the vegetables. Wash the sweet potato, onion, perilla leaves, and carrot thoroughly. Then, julienne all the vegetables into thin, long strips. Be careful not to cut the sweet potato too thinly, as it might become too hard when fried. Aim for a thickness similar to the thin end of a chopstick for a great texture. Perilla leaves add a wonderful fragrance, so feel free to add more if you like!
Step 2
Place the julienned vegetables in a large bowl. Next, sprinkle the tempura flour evenly over the vegetables. The key to crispiness is to use just enough tempura flour to lightly coat the vegetables, not too much.
Step 3
Now, gradually add water to the flour-coated vegetables while gently mixing them with your hands. Avoid making the batter too watery, as it will result in a thick coating, or too stiff, as it won’t adhere well to the vegetables. Mixing by hand ensures the ingredients are evenly coated and prevents clumping. It looks like a colorful Mexican salad, doesn’t it? So appetizing!
Step 4
The batter consistency should be such that the vegetables are just barely visible, much like a ‘Mexican salad.’ The vibrant colors of the vegetables are truly beautiful! If you’re not a fan of perilla leaf flavor or want to add a different aroma, feel free to include green onion tops, water dropwort (mizuna), or scallions. However, I personally adore the fragrant taste of perilla leaves!
Step 5
Alright, now for the most exciting part – frying! I’m quite good at frying, you know. Do you find it difficult to figure out how to place the vegetable tempura into the oil? Don’t worry! You can use kitchen tongs to grab a desired amount, then gently press and spread it out in the hot oil as you place it in. Alternatively, you can just drop in whatever amount you’ve grabbed. The shape doesn’t matter; it will be delicious either way! Too much batter can make the tempura greasy, so using tongs to pick up and fry just the right amount is crucial for optimal flavor.
Step 6
And there you have it – delicious vegetable tempura is complete! I only intended to make a small batch with one sweet potato and half an onion, but it turned out to be quite a generous amount! Look at this wonderfully crispy vegetable tempura, ready to be enjoyed easily at home!
