Vegetable tempura — www.jimcarson.com
Dipping sauce:
1/2 C soy sauce
1 t grated ginger
1/4 C brown rice syrup (or mirin if you have it)Batter:
2 eggs
2 C very cold water
2 C flourVegetables: (choose four)
1 medium head of broccoli, cut into small florets
10 small to medium-sized mushrooms (stems removed)
1/3 pound (fresh, not canned) green beans
1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2″ thick circles
1/2 small winter squash (like a butternut, acorn, pumpkin), sliced into 1/4″ thick wedges
1 large carrot, sliced into 1/4″ matchsticks
1 medium potato, sliced into 1/4″ circles
small sweet potato, sliced into 1/4″ circles
eggplant, which resembles neither eggs nor plants, sliced into 1/4″ thick circles
1 bell pepper (pick your color), seeded, sliced into 1/4″ thick ridges
Small sticks of banana
- Make the dipping sauce: heat the brown rice syrup/mirin to boiling. Remove from heat, and stir in the soy sauce and ginger. Pour the sauce into four bowls.
- Pick four of the vegetables above and chop them into the sizes indicated above.
- Heat the oil to 350°F
- Make the batter: beat the eggs gently until broken up. Mix in cold water and sift in flour. Stir lightly until combined, lumps are okay.
- Dip the vegetables into the batter and fry for 5-6 minutes, until browned. Drain on a grill, catching the oil on the bottom.
- Serve with steamed rice and dipping sauce.
Sometimes I prefer a “flakier” version of the batter. So I’ll make a pasty batter first made of flour and water and make the actual flakes out of crushed corn flakes. Or, you could just be lazy and buy the damn bag at Central Market or Uwajimaya. :-)