Tempura Onion Rings

These ridiculously crispy Onion Rings pack in so much flavor while still being incredibly light and easy to eat. In our opinion there are no better style of Onion Rings than Tempura Onion Rings. The famous Japanese Tempura Batter works perfectly with Onion Rings, offering a tasty and crispy coating to the rings of Onions that are deep fried to perfection. In this recipe we’ll show you how to make the most amazing Tempura Onion Rings at home. They’re so easy!

How to make Tempura Onion Rings at home

This is a simple recipe, and I’m surprised Homemade Onion Rings aren’t more popular. They’re actually a load easier to make than Homemade French Fries, as they don’t require multiple steps of cooking, freezing, and frying to get them nice and crispy. Simply slice the Onions, coat them in Batter, fry them, and they’re done!

First step is to prepare the Onion Rings. Now, unlike other Onion recipes I’ve found that the flavor of Onion Rings doesn’t really change based on what Onion you use. In fact, they carry a very mellow flavor, so the dish relies on seasoning to really bring the flavor

Preparing the Onions

For this recipe we used a combination of Yellow and Red Onions and didn’t find much difference in flavor. To be honest, just use whatever Onion you like. I’d suggest going for the cheapest ones, but also ones that are big

You want to cut the Onions so that they produce uniform rings. Avoid cutting the Onions the wrong way as that’ll render them useless! You want to make cuts down the center of the Onion with the two ends (the root and the stem) on either side

You can use the whole Onion if you like but understand that the sizes of the Onion Rings will be very different. That’s one of the fun things about Onion Rings. Each ring will be a slightly different size, so when they’re cooked they’ll have slight differences in crispiness and texture. Just adds to the overall experience!

Cut the Onions into rounds then slice them up into perfect rings ready for frying

Should you soak the Onions in Water before coating them in Batter?

I know of many recipes that recommend this to reduce some of the sharpness of the Onion flavor. Personally, I think this step is pointless, as the Onions have a very mellow flavor when being deep fried anyway

This step will just add 20 minutes to your cooking time and create needless complexity where it’s simply unrequired. Just slice your Onions to your desired shapes and sizes and set them aside. You can give them a light seasoning with Salt, but that’s also not necessary, as the seasoning is going to be captured in the Batter

Preparing the Tempura Batter

The second step is to make a delicious Tempura Batter. Now, unlike other batters that use Milk and even Beer (check out these amazing Beer Battered Fish and Chips), the key ingredient in a Tempura is Flour and Soda Water

You can use Sparkling Water, Soda Water, or Mineral Water. The key is to use Water that is carbonated. Those bubbles will aerate the Batter leaving it beautiful and light, which is what gives Tempura Batter its famous texture

All you need to do to get your Batter ready is to combine Flour (you can just use AP Flour), Corn Starch, and Soda Water into a bowl. Getting the right consistency of your batter is key to achieving great Tempura Onion Rings. The Batter should be a lot lighter than your typical batter, almost to the point that it falls off the Onion Rings once they’re dipped in

Begin by adding equal parts Water and Flour to the mixture and whisk well. You want a runny batter that will slightly stick to your whisk / a spoon. Avoid the batter clunking up, it should be just slightly thicker than liquid. If your batter is too thick, whisk in a little bit more Water, too thin – add a bit more Flour

It’s important to season the Batter well

This is a step that many forget, or simply dismiss in the cooking process, thinking that the flavor of the Oil is going to carry the dish. No, instead we recommend aggressively seasoning the Batter. The Onion Rings don’t have a lot of flavors otherwise, so to really drive home the flavor, seasoning the Batter is key

For our Tempura Onion Rings, we season the batter well with a combination of Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika, Salt, and Pepper. If you like you can add a little bit of heat to the Batter for some spice. Cayenne Pepper or Chili Powder will work great

Frying the Tempura Onion Rings

With your Batter prepared and Onions sliced, the only thing left is to cook them up! Fill a heavy bottomed frying pan or pot with enough Frying Oil so that the Onion Rings will be submerged. Avoid filling the Oil any higher than halfway up the pot to avoid any risk of overflowing

Place the Oil over medium high heat and bring it to a temperature around 320F – 350F. This is the optimal frying temperature for Onion Rings. Then, grab an Onion Ring one at a time and coat them well in the Tempura Batter. Immediately remove the Onion from the Batter and straight into the hot Oil

It’s important that you do this quickly to prevent the Batter from dripping off. Remember, this is a very light Tempura Batter, so it needs to get into that hot Oil immediately once it’s been coated. I like to have the Batter right next to the stovetop when doing this

Carefully place a few Onion Rings into the hot Oil and fry them for 2 – 3 minutes until golden brown. They don’t need a long fry, just enough for the coating to turn into a beautiful golden-brown color

Batch cook to prevent the Oil from dropping in temperature

It’s important you don’t add too many Onion Rings to the Oil at once. This will drop the temperature of the Oil, resulting in soggy Onion Rings. You’ll need to therefore batch cook about 3 – 4 Onion Rings at a time (or a few more if you’re using a large pot like a Dutch Oven)

Once the Tempura Onion Rings are cooked, remove them from the Oil using a spider strainer and place them onto a wire rack to remove any excess Oil. Immediately season them with some Salt and they’re now ready to eat!

Tempura Onion Rings Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 large Onions
• ½ cup of All Purpose Flour
• ¾ cup Soda Water (or any Carbonated Water)
• ½ tsp. Smoked Paprika
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Salt
• Neutral Frying Oil (eg: Vegetable or Canola Oil)
  
  

Equipment needed: Spider strainer

Instructions

1. Peel the Onions and then place one on a chopping board with the stem and root of the Onions facing outwards. Cut through the Onions to form circles, leaving about ½ inch thickness between cuts
2. Push the Onion Rings out of the circular cuts and then set the rings aside
3. Create your Tempura Batter by combining Flour and Soda Water in a bowl and whisk well to form a thin batter. You can adjust the thickness by adding more Flour or Water, aim for a thin batter that will slightly coat the Onions
4. Finish the Batter by seasoning with Paprika, Garlic Powder, Salt, and Pepper then place the Batter bowl next to the stovetop
5. Fill a heavy bottomed saucepan or pot with enough Frying Oil so the Onions will be fully submerged. Place over medium high heat and bring to a frying temperature (between 320F – 350F)
6. Dip an Onion Ring in the Batter to fully coat it, then immediately (and carefully) place into the Oil. Only fry about 3 – 4 Onion Rings at one to avoid the Oil temperature dropping
7. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove using a spider strainer and set aside on a wire rack. Season with Salt then serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can use any kind of Onions you like, it doesn’t impact the flavor of the dish
• Try adding a little bit of Cayenne Pepper or Chili Powder to your Batter for some heat
  
  

You must try our amazing Tempura Onion Rings. The light Tempura Batter makes for the perfect coating for those delicious Onion Rings, and the flavors are just amazing. You can enjoy these Onion Rings by themselves or as a side to a hearty meal

For more delicious bite-sized treats, check out some of these awesome recipes:

• Homemade Chicken Nuggets
• Animal Style In-N-Out Fries
• Garlic Shrimp with Chili
• Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns
  
  

Happy Cooking!