How to Make Light and Crispy Tempura

Who told you that making tempura at home is difficult? It wasn't me that's for sure. I've always made them at home and yes, it's easy to screw it up if you don't know what you're doing. But once you know how to make it, you'll never go back to eating mediocre tempura again.

True tempura batter should be light, crispy and not too oily. Fresh ingredients should be used, especially if you're using shrimp. They should be eaten while hot and served with a wedge of lemon, some sea salt and tempura sauce.

Now here are some pointers to keep in mind.

• Water should be ice cold.
• Shrimp should be very fresh
• Hard vegetables should be cut very thin for fast cooking
• Keep tempura warm in a warm oven on paper towel

It's easy to make light and crispy tempura at home with this foolproof recipe. Watch our video tutorial, which will make it easier to do.

Don't have time? Buy tempura batter online. It's easy:

Ingredients: Serves 2

***Use your favorite ingredients. This is what we used***

4-6 medium to large shrimp
4 slices pumpkin
4 slices sweet potato
1/2 bunch maitake mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup julienned carrots

***Tempura Batter***
1 cup flour
1 egg and ice-cold soda water to make 1 cup

***Tempura Sauce (Tentsuyu)***
1 cup dashi
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin ( or white wine )
1 teaspoon sugar
grated ginger and daikon ( optional )

Directions:

Prepare vegetables and shrimp. Pat everything dry.
Heat oil to 160C. Put vegetable into batter and deep fry for 2-3 minutes.
Increase oil to 180C. Batter and fry shrimp for 2-3 minutes.
Add onions and carrots into remaining batter and mix.
Spoon a mound into the oil to make kakiage. Deep fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Serve with salt and tempura sauce.

Watch our video tutorial to see just how easy tempura is to make at home. 

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