What’s better than the delicate crispy taste of freshly battered and fried tempura? Nothing. Nothing except Crispy Tempura 3 kinds that is! We are going to make shrimp, mushroom and veggie tempura all at the same time; this dish will make you famous in your home kitchen. Served as an appetizer before the meal or a standalone snack while entertaining, this authentic Japanese recipe utilizes all three kingdoms to create a true masterpiece. Just follow our simple recipe and video at the end of the article, and get ready for the applause from the crowds.
What Is Tempura?
This traditional Japanese cooking technique actually has its roots in the 16th-century Portuguese missionaries’ style of “fritter” cooking. Now an essential part of Japanese food culture, tempura is one of the most popular ways to prepare both seafood and vegetables, and it has a cult following around the world.
Making the tempura batter is simple. It’s just water, flour and eggs. But the art of making the perfect tempura is in the cooking itself, as well as having the right pot to do it in. In this recipe, we explain how to do it in a normal pot. For best results, though, invest in a wok or real tempura pot. The difference is that you will be better able to separate the oil from the product and will end up with a more delicate yet crispy one.
Once the perfect tempura has been fried up, there are basically two ways to eat it according to Japanese culture and traditions. One is to dip it in a tempura sauce, like the one we explain here in the recipe, and the other is to sprinkle a high-quality salt (like rock or sea salt) on the freshly fried items.
You can make tempura from many common produce and seafood items, but feel free to experiment. In Japanese food culture, the most common ingredients are shrimp, eggplant, satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potatoes), shishito peppers, maitake mushrooms, shiso leaves, asparagus and white fish. It can be a quick snack whipped up from simple ingredients, like in this easy carrot tempura recipe.
Cooking Tips:
- Make sure to wipe liquid off the surface of any ingredients before you fry them. That’s the secret to making tempura crispy and perfect.
- Since it’s hard to dry mushrooms, don’t wash them. Wipe any dirt off using paper towels instead.
- For seafood, powder the item with tempura powder before dipping it to the batter. That way, the batter sticks to the ingredients better.
- For even consistency, always whisk the batter with chopsticks before applying it.
- Make sure to read the tempura powder package for proper usage. Depending on the kind of the powder, you may need to increase or decrease the amount of water that you use.
- The best oil temperature for cooking is between 320 and 356 degrees Fahrenheit. A great way to test if your pot is ready is to pour a bit of batter into the oil. If it sinks at first but then rises, it is around 356 degrees Fahrenheit and ready to go! But if it floats right away, it’s simply too hot, and you should lower the temperature.
Crispy Tempura 3 Kinds
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tempura Powder
- ¾ cup Water
- 3 Black Tiger or Gulf Shrimp
- 3 Shiitake Mushroom
- 3 Asparagus
- 3 Tbsp Tempura Powder, for shrimp
- Oil, for frying
- Salt, for eating
Instructions
- Peel and devein shrimps.
- Cut the triangle part of the tail to remove water.
- Make 3 to 4 cut marks on the belly, and stretch on the cutting board until you hear a little popping sound (Otherwise your shrimp tempura will be curly, not straight).
- Pat dry with paper towels and lightly powder on tempura powder.
- Cut off the end of the asparagus and cut it in half.
- Remove any dirt off from shiitake mushrooms with a paper towel (do not wash). Remove the stem.
- Mix together the tempura sauce ingredients in a microwavable container. Microwave it for 2 minutes. Mix and set it aside.
- Pour water into a medium bowl. Then add the tempura powder.
- Mix about 30-40 times with hand mixer.
- Check the thickness of the batter by scooping with a spoon. Tempura batter is perfect if the batter falls in small drops. If it’s too smooth, add tempura powder. If it’s too thick, add water.
Add frying oil up to 60-80% of the pot. Fill up to at least around 1inch if using a frying pan.
Heat the oil. The best temperature is 320-356F. (Pour a bit of the batter in the pot. If it sinks to the bottom and rises immediately it’s around 320F. If it sinks halfway and rises immediately, it’s around 356F. If the batter immediately floats, the oil is too hot.)
Dip shrimps/ vegetables to the tempura batter and carefully place in the pot.
Add ingredients so it only takes up about half the surface. More than that will decrease the temperature of the oil. Once the ingredients are in, adjust the heat.
When the bubbles start to become smaller, it’s done. Make sure to remove excess oil when taking the fried ingredient out. 1-2 minutes is the desired frying time.
Place the tempura on a cooling rack, making sure they don’t overlap.
Enjoy with a pinch of salt of dip tempura in tempura sauce!
