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Vegetable Tempura

Try our vegetable tempura, known as Kaki Age in Japanese. This particular tempura uses onions and carrots, but you can also use other vegetables like zucchini! You can also use the batter for other tempuras, like with mushrooms, shrimp, eggplant and more!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: authentic, vegetarian
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Tempura batter

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup ice-cold water
  • vegetable oil enough to fill a third of a large pot

Veggies

  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onions
  • 1 tbsp small dried shrimp *optional

Instructions

Prepare the ingredients

  • Cut carrot and onion in to thin, small pieces. About the size of matches. Mix in a small bowl.
  • Break apart the mushrooms into smaller pieces.

Make the batter

  • In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and ice cold water.
  • Add the flour to the egg-water mixture. Mix lightly, it's okay if there are lumps.

Heat the oil

  • Pour oil into a deep frying pan or pot to about 2 inches or enough for the tempura to not touch the bottom.
  • Heat the oil to 350F(170F). Test by dropping a small bit of batter, if it sizzles and floats, the oil is ready.

Make the Kaki

  • Take about half a cup of the carrot and onion mix, (and optionally the dried shrimp) and lightly coat with flour. Dip the floured piece into the batter and coat evenly. Don't worry about getting every part coated, try to keep the pieces together. Repeat with the mushrooms.
  • Carefully place the battered pieces into the hot oil. Add more pieces but do not overcrowd the pot.
  • Fry until tempura is golden and crispy, about 2 minutes for each side. Do not flip or touch the tempura too much!
  • Remove the tempura and place on a wire rack or paper towel for a couple minutes before serving.

Serve

  • Serve with mentsuyu or salt!