How To: Tempura Veggies

Well, hello there! Yes, I know. It’s been very long since I posted a recipe. And, yes I am sorry! But I have been holding on for something really delicious and here it is!

I told you! These veggies are so amazingly delicious. And, really the possibilities are endless. I just tempura-ed (??) some zucchini and onions but you could go tempura-crazy! Broccoli (I’ve done that and day-um!), eggplant, asparagus, mushrooms, shrimps even! It’s really easy too, even I didn’t screw it up the first time! All you need is some goodies you wanna fry, I used:

Ingredients

2 ea                     Zucchini, washed

1/2 ea                 Onion

1 recipe               Tempura Batter

1 recipe               Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 Tbl                   Soy Sauce

1/4 tsp                Onion Powder

1/4 tsp                Garlic Powder

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1-2 Tbl                Cornstarch

Directions

Wash zucchini and cut off both ends, save these for chicken stock in the freezer if you’re into that kinda thing. Cut into 2-3 inch rectangles. Peel onion and cut off ends, save these for chicken stock in the freezer if you’re into that kinda thing. Cut onion in 1/2 inch thick pieces, I would have made rings but I only had half the onion. I improvised:

Place veggies into a bowl and marinated with the soy, onion and garlic powders and pepper. Let this sit for up to an hour, the veggies will get soggy if they sit too long.

Put a heavy skillet with deep sides on medium heat, fill with about 3-4 inches of vegetable oil and heat to 350 degrees. Mix together your tempura batter and set aside. You know when the oil is ready when you drop a few drops of the batter into the oil and it immediately starts to bubble and rise to the top. It is too hot if it is smoking. Place the veggies directly into the batter, draining any excess soy sauce off first. Toss thoroughly in the batter.

Make sure they veggies are coated before placing them one by one into the hot oil, letting any excess batter drip off first. Gently place in the oil, do not drop from a high distance or you will get splattered and burnt. Let these fry, turning occasionally with a tong or fork until golden brown, about 4 minutes total. Let drain either on a paper towel on a plate, or the best way on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet or baking dish, to allow the oil to drip off.

Serve immediately. I actually don’t recommend placing the pieces on top of each other, I just did this for the picture for some reason, they should be a single layer. I serve mine with sweet and sour sauce. You can do many accompaniments such as a nice garlic aioli, ranch dressing or even just some extra soy.

I usually make Chinese food about once a week and I have started making these veggies to go along with the dish. Other than just steamed veggies I don’t know of many ways that compliment Chinese food but this goes perfectly!! I hope you enjoyed this recipe and let me know how your batch turns out!

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