Ad

  • 100g (approx) each of a mix of firm vegetables
    cut into bite-size pieces, such as aubergine, broccoli, courgette, mushrooms, red pepper and sweet potatoes
  • tempura batter
    (see below)
  • groundnut or sunflower oil
    for deep frying

For the sauce

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal471
  • fat35g
  • saturates6g
  • carbs33g
  • sugars4g
  • fibre4g
  • protein5g
  • salt2.08g
Ad

Method

  • step 1

    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

  • step 2

    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.

  • step 3

    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.

RECIPE TIPS
MAKING TEMPURA BATTER

Mix this just as you are about to cook. Sift 85g/3oz plain flour and 1 tbsp cornflour with ½ tsp fine sea salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in 200ml/7fl oz ice-cold sparkling mineral water along with a few ice cubes using a whisk, but don’t over beat. It doesn’t matter about a few lumps. Use immediately.

KEEPING IT CRISP

The secret is: don’t over-mix it, or let it stand; keep the batter ice-cold and the oil hot; and don’t fry too many pieces at once as this will reduce the temperature of the oil.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2005

Ad

Comments, questions and tips (14)

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Overall rating

A star rating of 3.9 out of 5.10 ratings

robertjohnevans

Rookie mistake, well it would be if I hadn’t done it before! Put them in the basket of the fryer! Duh me! Tried Celery heart ok, Carrot slices ok, Avocado nice, parsley fronds ok, hard Goat’s cheese squares nice, spring onions nice, bell peppers nice!

louisesray

Add a comment...

alisondavey

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Great recipe, we used fresh calamari rings and they came out like restaurant quality! Also king prawns, onion rings, red peppers, courgette, baby corn, snow peas and carrots. We made batter as directed but dusted everything with flour before coating and deep frying. Delicious!

Alexis Ragaliauskas avatar

Alexis Ragaliauskas

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Used the batter recipe to make avocado tempura, I coated the avocado slices in flour before dipping in the batter, and didn't shake off the excess just chucked straight in the pan very quickly. Best tempura batter recipe I've tried.

Pee avatar

Pee

tip

Hubby is a huge fan of king prawns and I use the tempura batter to do tempura king prawns; few mins in the fryer and some sweet chilli sauce for dipping; perfect.

Ad
Ad
Ad