Homemade Tempura Vegetables

A staple starter or appetizer at any Japanese restaurant are Tempura Vegetables. This wonderful dish consists of a super-light batter that coats fresh Vegetables that are lightly fried until crispy. The Vegetables are typically served with a sweet Tempura Sauce and makes for a tasty start to the meal. In this recipe we’ll show you just how easy it is to make delicious Homemade Tempura Vegetables, complete with that wonderful Tempura dipping Sauce!

There are loads of different Vegetables that work great in this dish

There’s a lot of reasons to love this dish. The flavor, textures, and look are so appealing on the plate. However, what makes this dish such a fantastic one to make at home is its versatility. You can literally use any kind of Vegetables in this recipe, and they will turn out great

The key to perfecting this dish is preparing each vegetable accordingly so they cook at roughly the same time. Certain vegetables are going to take a little bit longer to cook (Potatoes for example). Others will cook a lot quicker (such as Mushrooms). So, for those Vegetables that take a little longer to cook, just cut them into thinner portions so they’ll cook quicker. Easy!

Shiitake Mushrooms are mandatory, however

While you pretty much have a free range of choice with Vegetables, there’s one Veggie that really is a mandatory when it comes to Homemade Tempura Vegetables. That is, none other than Shiitake Mushrooms. These classic Japanese Mushrooms are simply perfect in this dish

In our recipe below and featured in the photos is a combination of Shiitake Mushrooms, Broccoli, and Carrots. This combination was great for us, providing unique flavors and textures. Some other popular ingredients to use for your Homemade Tempura Vegetables are Potatoes, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and Daikon Radish

We recommend trying a few different Vegetables to see what you like. Of course, if you don’t like a certain type of Vegetable for example, simply don’t use it and replace it with on you like! It’s that easy

The key to perfecting that light and crispy Tempura Batter is Soda Water

Making the Batter for our Homemade Tempura Vegetables is easy. It is a simple combination of Flour, Corn Starch, Egg, and Salt. However, instead of adding regular water we recommend you use Soda Water. Soda Water adds a light and fluffy result to the Tempura due to the carbonation in the water

Those bubbles will work their way into the Batter and lighten up the entire Batter, which is a key component to Tempura Batter. You’ll need about equal parts dry ingredients to wet (Soda Water) in the Batter. It may seem too light once you mix it all together, but that’s kind of the point

A Tempura Batter is easily the lightest batter you can make, so naturally it will be quite light. When coating the Vegetables it will stick, but you’ll notice the coating will be a lot thinner than other batters you may be used to (such as our Beer Battered Fish and Chips for example)

The batter will begin to drip off the Vegetables as soon as they are coated. So, to ensure as much Batter stays on the Veggies as possible we recommend coating them immediately before they are carefully dropped into the hot Oil. So, get your Oil hot and place your Batter and Vegetables right next to the Oil to make it easy to transfer them

For some extra crispy bits, add a touch more Batter to the Vegetables once they’ve been placed in the Oil

This is a nice little trick that I picked up along my journeys. To get an even crispier coating to the Tempura Vegetables, drizzle a little bit of extra Batter straight onto them as soon as they hit the water. What happens here is the Oil will immediately begin to seal up the Batter coating the Vegetables. By adding a little bit more on top of them, you will be able to form some unique gnarled bits of Batter on the outside of the Vegetables

All in all, this technique just gives you more Batter, which results in more crunchy texture and a wonderful flavor. It is an optional step, but you will likely have more Batter than is needed in this recipe. So, it’s worth trying. Just use your fingers to drizzle a bit of Batter straight into the Oil. It may be a little messy, but it’s well worth it!

Homemade Tempura Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients

• ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
• ¼ cup Corn Starch
• 1 cup of Soda Water
• 1 Egg
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ cup Shiitake Mushrooms
• ½ cup Carrot, cut into thin pieces
• ½ cup Broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
• Frying Oil (eg: Vegetable / Canola Oil), enough to submerge Vegetables
  
  

Tempura Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• ¾ cup of Dashi (you can also use Fish Stock)
• 2 tbsp. Mirin
• 3 tsp. White Sugar
  
  

Instructions

1. Combine the Tempura Sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the Sugar has dissolved (a few minutes). Set aside and re-heat when ready to serve
2. Add the Flour, Corn Starch, Egg and Soda Water into a bowl. Whisk well to form the Batter
3. Heat the Oil in a Saucepan until the temperature reaches 350F (use a thermometer). Dunk the Vegetables into the Batter and immediately place into the Oil. Add a few drops of Batter on top of the Vegetables as they sit in the Oil
4. Fry for 2 minutes until a light golden-brown color. Batch cook to avoid overheating the pan
5. Remove the cooked Vegetables with a spider strainer and set on an elevated wire rack to strain. Season immediately with Salt then serve with the Tempura Sauce while hot
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can replace the Vegetables listed in this recipe with whatever you choose. The cooking times may vary however, depending on what vegetables you use
• Other popular Vegetables to use are Green Beans, thinly sliced Sweet Potato, Squash, and Daikon Radish
• For an extra-crispy coating, add a few extra drops of Batter to the Vegetables as soon as they hit the Oil
  
  

This amazing Homemade Tempura Vegetables Recipe is so easy to make, you’ll never need or want to head to a Japanese Restaurant to enjoy them ever again! Seriously, this is a wonderfully delicious and easy to prepare dish. It’s a great side dish or appetizer to kick off a meal, or just a fun bite to enjoy any time of the day

We love some good home cooked Japanese food here at Dinnertime Somewhere. If you enjoyed this recipe then please check out some of these other amazing Japanese recipes of ours:

• Chicken Teriyaki on Rice
• Crispy Tempura Shrimp
• Japanese Pickled Radishes
• Homemade Sushi Rice
  
  

Happy Cooking!