A tasty and easy recipe, these Tempura Vegetables are fresh battered and fried served with a soy based dipping sauce. Great for a tasty appetizer or side dish.
Prepare your veggies, if they need to be cut, cut them into 1/4th inch slices or sticks. Place the veggies into a large bow.
Toss with the soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder. Let the bowl sit on the counter and marinate for up to 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining steps.
While the veggies are marinating, make the dipping sauce by placing the soy sauce, water, and sugar into a small saucepan. Stirring constantly, place the pan over medium heat and cook it just until the sugar melts, 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the vinegar, chili paste, and scallion, whisk to combine. Let cool while you prepare the remaining steps.
Pour about 2-3 inches of oil into a large heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Hear the oil until it reaches 350°F.
While the oil heats, make the batter, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt, set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together the egg and water until fully combined.
Pour the wet mix into the dry and stir until combined, try not to overmix.
Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the marinated veggies and mix to combine.
Once the oil is hot, add a handful of the veggies into the batter and coat in the batter. Let excess batter drip off, these don’t need to be heavily coated. Carefully place the veggies one by one into the oil. Fry until lightly golden brown on all sides, flipping the veggies over as needed. About 4 minutes total.
Drain any excess oil off then place the veggies on a paper towel-lined plate to catch any excess oil. Transfer to a wire rack that is over a sheet tray to prevent the tempura from getting soggy. Repeat with the remaining veggies.
Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Use any of your favorite vegetables, see some suggestions above.
We do not recommend freezing these.
You can skip making the dipping sauce, see above on other options.