Tempura vegetables are light enough to be served as a side dish but also make a superb finger lunch on their own. With a tangy dipping sauce, they are irresistible.
Servings 6to 8
Total Time 32 minutesmins
Ingredients
Vegetables
1kgmixed veg of your choice, such as, green beans, sugar snap peas, broccolini, courgettes cut into long batons, asparagus, red peppers, and sweet potatoes cut into long strips or thin rounds. All vegetables should be cut to the same size so that they all cook at the same time.
Using a fork, mix, and stir in the ice-cold water until the mixture is slightly thicker than a buttermilk consistency
Be careful of over mixing, as tempura is renowned to have lumps of flour
For the Vegetables
Dip sliced vegetables of your choice into the batter mixture and shake off any excess
Deep fry vegetables in a wok or frying pan or deep fat fryer (if you have one) (you just need about 7cm or 3 inches of clean oil) until the batter is light golden in colour and crisp
Turn the vegetables at intervals to ensure that both sides are cooked equally
Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon, shaking off any excess oil
Place the vegetables on kitchen paper towels and eat as soon as possible
As the hot cooked vegetables cool down inside the batter they will begin to steam, making them less crisp as time goes on
Notes
Good tempura should be crispy and is one of those things that should be made and cooked quickly and eaten straight away