One of the most delicious types of tempura is sweet potato tempura! The combination of the sweet potato’s softness and natural sweetness along with the crispy tempura batter creates a yummy contrast of flavor and texture. The key to any tempura is achieving that signature crispy yet light and airy texture without any heavy oiliness. Discover how to do that with my tips and make delicious sweet potato tempura at home as an appetiser or side dish!
Table of contents
What is Sweet Potato Tempura
Sweet potato tempura is a classic type of Japanese tempura made from thinly sliced sweet potatoes coated in a light tempura batter then deep-fried until golden brown and crispy. It’s often served with a mix of other vegetable tempura and a tempura dipping sauce. It’s a popular type of tempura because it offers the perfect balance of sweetness from the tender sweet potatoes and crunchiness from the tempura coating. Sweet potato tempura can be eaten as a snack, appetizer, side dish, or added to a bento box.
Ingredients Needed for Sweet Potato Tempura
To make perfectly crispy yet airy sweet potato tempura, you’ll need a few essential ingredients:
- Sweet Potatoes : use purple Japanese sweet potato if you can find it. Choose sweet potatoes that are a uniform size without any bumps, scratches, or spots on the skin. Also avoid those with tough roots coming out or those with part of the skin discolored as they are often old and may have a bitter taste.
- Tempura Batter: You can easily make your own tempura batter by combining flour, ice-cold water, and Japanese mayonnaise. I use mayonnaise instead of eggs because it makes the batter less oily and less soggy (learn more about this in the tempura recipe here).
- Oil for Frying : Use a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable oil or canola oil. I also mix in about 30% sesame oil. The reason for mixing sesame oil with vegetable oil is to suppress oxidation of oil and you’ll get a more authentic flavor like specialty tempura restaurants.
- Tempura dipping sauce : Tempura dipping sauce is called tentsuyu. It’s an essential condiment for tempura dishes. This light and flavorful sauce perfectly complements tempura with its umami taste and slightly sweet flavor. You’ll need dashi, mirin, and soy sauce to make it.
Step-by-step Instructions
Follow these steps to make crispy sweet potato tempura:
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes
- Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly under running water. Scrape off the dirty skin with a knife and remove the whiskers. Cut into rounds of about 1/4 inch/7mm thick to ensure they cook evenly in the the hot oil.
- Soak the sweet potato slices: Once you have sliced the sweet potatoes, soak them in cold water for about 10-15 minutes. This helps remove excess starch from the surface of the sweet potatoes, which will prevent them from becoming soggy when fried.
- Dry the sweet potato slices: After soaking, drain the sweet potato slices and pat them dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. This step is crucial in achieving a crispy tempura coating on the sweet potatoes.
Make the Tempura Batter
- Add cold water and Japanese mayo in a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. Make sure to mix the mayo and cold water well first so that you can prevent over-mixing after adding the flour.
- Add the all-purpose flour in two parts. If you over-mix the flour, it will create gluten which will result in a chewy texture rather than crispy. Mix the first half with chopsticks until it becomes powdery.
- Add the remaining flour. Mix together lightly with chopsticks. It’s okay if some powder remains. Be careful not to over-mix.
Fry the Sweet Potato Tempura
- Preheat the oil. Sweet potatoes need to be cooked slowly, so they are fried at a low temperature. Set the temperature of the frying oil to around 338°F/170°C. To check whether its the right temperature, shake off a bit of the batter from the chopsticks into the oil. When it sinks to the bottom and then rises, it is approximately 338°F/170°C .
- Use a brush to lightly coat the drained sweet potatoes all over with flour. It acts like an adhesive between the batter and the ingredients.
- Dip each sweet potato slice into the tempura batter, ensuring it is fully coated. Let any excess batter drip off before placing the slice into the hot oil.
- Add the tempura sweet potato slices to the frying oil. Fry the sweet potato in small batches to ensure they cook evenly.
- In the middle of the process, insert a bamboo skewer to check if it goes in smoothly. If it’s cooked all the way through, you can easily insert a skewer into it.
- Once the sweet potato tempura is cooked, remove it from the oil using a slotted spoon or tongs. Place the fried slices on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Make the Tentsuyu Dipping Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.
- Bring the mixture to boil over medium heat for about 1minutes. This allows all the alcohol content of mirin to evaporate.
- Turn the heat off and transfer the dipping sauce to a serving bowl or individual dipping bowls.
Tips and Tricks for Achieving the Perfect Crispy Tempura
To achieve the crispiest sweet potato tempura, keep the following tips and tricks in mind:
- Keep the Batter Cold: Use ice-cold water when making the tempura batter. A cold batter helps create a light and crispy texture. Also avoid over-mixing it.
- Fry in Small Batches: Fry the sweet potato slices in small batches to prevent overcrowding in the pan. This ensures that each slice cooks evenly and becomes crispy.
- Maintain the Oil Temperature: Keep a close eye on the oil temperature and adjust the heat as needed. If the oil is too hot, the tempura can burn quickly. If it’s too cold, the tempura may become greasy.
- Use a Wire Rack: Instead of placing the fried sweet potato tempura directly on a plate, place them on a wire rack. This allows air to circulate around the tempura, preventing it from becoming soggy.
Variations
- Adding black sesame seeds to the batter : One way to elevate classic sweet potato tempura is by adding black sesame seeds to the batter. This adds a subtle nutty flavor and a unique appearance.
- Change the sweet potato cut : cut the sweet potatoes into sticks and fry them in the style of kakiage.
- Different dipping sauces: tentsuyu is the most popular and classic sauce for tempura but you can try different sauces too. Try traditional Japanese sauces like soy sauce, ponzu sauce, or simply just sprinkle salt . You can also customize the dipping sauce by adding grated daikon radish or chopped green onions for extra flavor and texture. You can also adjust the sweetness or saltiness of the dipping sauce according to your preference.
- Cooking method: I used a regular frying pot to cook the tempura but you can also try using an air-fryer or deep-fryer. However, the results may be different with an air-fryer.
Serving Suggestions
Sweet potato tempura can be served in many ways. Here are some suggestions:
- As a main dish: serve the sweet potato tempura along with other types of vegetable tempura (or on its own), some kind of protein, rice, and miso soup to create a full Japanese main dish for dinner.
- As an appetizer: serve the sweet potato tempura on a plate with a bowl of dipping sauce as an appetizer or party platter food.
- Add it to a bento box: sweet potato tempura is a delicious addition to a bento box. Whenever I make it for dinner, I love to save some and add it to a bento box the next day for lunch.
- Add it to sushi: cut the sweet potato into sticks before coating with the batter and frying to make them easy to roll into sushi. The crispy tempura will go great with sushi rice. You can also add other ingredients like avocados or cucumbers.
Crispy Sweet Potato Tempura さつまいもの天ぷら
Crispy and delicious sweet potato tempura with a flavorful dipping sauce is the perfect appetizer or side dish!
Servings:
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Tempura
- 1 medium sized sweet potato
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour (or 50g/1.8oz)
- ⅓ cup icy cold water (or 75ml/2.5fl oz)
- 1 tbsp Japanese mayo *1
- Vegetable oil and sesame seeds oil for frying
Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup dashi *2
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin
Instructions
Sweet Potato Tempura
- Wash sweet potatoes thoroughly under running water.
- Scrape off the dirty skin with a knife and remove the whiskers. Cut into rounds of about ¼ inch/7mm thick to ensure they cook evenly in the the hot oil.
- Soak the sliced sweet potato in cold water for about 10-15 minutes.
- After soaking, drain the sweet potato slices and pat them dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
- Add cold water and Japanese mayo in a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. By thoroughly mixing the mayo and cold water first, you can prevent over-mixing after adding the flour.
- Add the all purpose flour in two parts. If you over-mix the flour, it will become sticky and create gluten. Mix the first half with chopsticks until it becomes powdery.
- Add the remaining flour. Mix together lightly with chopsticks. It's okay if some powder remains. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Heat oil in a frying pan to around 338°F/170°C. *3
- Use a brush to lightly coat the drained sweet potatoes all over with flour.
- Dip each sweet potato slice into the tempura batter, ensuring it is fully coated. Allow any excess batter to drip off before placing the slice into the hot oil.
- Add the tempura batter coated sweet potato slices to the frying oil and fry for 3-4 minutes. *4
- Insert a bamboo skewer into the tempura. If it easily goes in smoothly, then it is cooked all the way through.
- Once the sweet potato tempura is cooked, remove it from the oil using a slotted spoon or tongs. Place the fried slices on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Dipping Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.
- Bring the mixture to boil over medium heat for about 1minute.
- Turn the heat off and transfer the dipping sauce to a serving bowl or individual dipping bowls.
Notes
*1 If you don’t access to Japanese mayo, see the recipe here.
*2 Dashi recipe – read this post for homemade dashi stock or you can add 1/4 tsp of granulated instant dashi powder dissolved into 1 cup of water.
*3 If you don’t have anything to check the oil temperature with, instead you can shake off a bit of the batter from the chopsticks into the oil. When it sinks to the bottom and then rises, it is approximately 338°F/170°C .
Nutrition
Calories: 150kcal · Carbohydrates: 26g · Protein: 5g · Fat: 3g · Saturated Fat: 1g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1g · Trans Fat: 0.01g · Cholesterol: 1mg · Sodium: 1170mg · Potassium: 285mg · Fiber: 2g · Sugar: 6g · Vitamin A: 8020IU · Vitamin C: 1mg · Calcium: 40mg · Iron: 1mg
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