If you are a lover of Japanese food then you know the common tempura shrimp in sushi. You must have wondered how they make this light fry crost. Tempura is an ancient Japanese cooking technique and easy meal you can make from the comfort of your home using simple household ingredients.
In this article, we will be sharing everything you need to know about Tempura, including how to make the signatory Tempura batter.
A Quick History of Tempura
Tempura is an old unique Japanese dish that requires lightly coating vegetables, seafood, sushi, etc., in batter and deep frying to give a crispy coating. Anywhere the name Tempura occurs in a menu, it means it is deep fried.
Although it is a Japanese dish, records have proven that the meal was introduced into Japan by Portuguese missionaries and later adopted by the Japanese.
What Is Tempura Batter Made of?
The tempura batter is made from just flour, egg, and ice water. Even though tempura mix is available in grocery stores, you can quickly whip it from your home.
This amazing combination of ingredients creates a puffy, light coating on the meal.
Ice water is important as it reduces the gluten formation responsible for stopping the batter from becoming too dense. It also helps to prevent excessive oil from penetrating the food.
Common Types of Tempura
There’s no limit to what you can fry the tempura way. Here are some of the dishes that fry Tempura well.
Tempura Sushi
This type of tempura is one of the most common. You may have seen it on a local sushi restaurant menu. The sushi roll is usually tempura fried or the filling within the roll, like the shrimp, is tempura fried.
Vegetable Tempura
Potatoes, kabocha squash, carrots, and more are other popular ingredients that can be tempura fried. Some other vegetables like mushrooms, pepper, and eggplants are also used.
Chicken Tempura
Chicken, beef, eggs, and sausages can be tempura fried. However, they are not as common as the rest because they can get a little heavy once fried.
Shrimp Tempura
Seafood can also be tempura fried. Infected they are the original tempura. Tiger prawns are among the most popular.
How to Make Tempura
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup chilled water
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1-quart vegetable oil
- Desired vegetables and/or meat
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- â…› teaspoon dashi granules
Instructions
- Start by whisking all the ingredients to make your dip sauce and set aside.
- Break the egg and separate the egg white from the yoke. What we want is the yoke.Â
- After separating the yoke, whisk cold water and the egg yolk together, sift the flour and whisk together until combined. Ensure the batter is a little lumpy.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or saucepan until highly hot, not smoky. Say 375 degrees F.
- Then put the ingredients into the batter and immediately transfer into the hot oil to fry. Fry into golden brown and transfer to a paper towel when ready.
- Repeat the process till all ingredients are fried.
Tips for a Crispy Tempura
Here are a few tips to help you get a crispier batter.
- Ensure all your ingredients are cold. This will help prevent the fast development of gluten and helps to keep the Tempura crispier.
- Combine and mix the batter ingredients right before frying.
- Don’t overmix the batter to avoid gluten formation, which can affect the tempura texture. For best results, use chopsticks to mix.
- To help the batter stick properly to the ingredient, dip it into a bowl of potato starch before dipping it into the batter.
- Deep-fry the tempura at 350 °F for about 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden. However, in the absence of potato starch, the batter will not become golden brown, so remove it when the color becomes light gold.
Wrap Up!
There is really no limit to what you can make with tempura batter, so you can explore more options than what has already been stated here.
But if you are making tempura batter for the first time, we would love to know how you did it. Happy Cooking!
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