Tempura is another great example of a simple and sophisticated Japanese dish. Plump and juicy prawns wrapped with super crispy batter, unique Japanese vegetables such as shiso leaf, thinly sliced sweet kabocha pumpkin and purple sweet potato, renkon lotus roots and shiitake mushrooms coated with crispy batter. I am going to share my secret to make crispy Tempura at home!
What protein suits Tempura?
In Japan, the protein source used is usually seafood. I have never had meat tempura. Prawn is my favourite. If you are going to use prawn, my recommendation is to use ‘tiger prawn’. Other seafood often cooked are squid, scallops, and white fish such as sillaginoid or Japanese whiting.
How to prepare Prawn?
Presentation of the dish is important to some extent even for a home cooked dish. Making the prawn straight when you make deep fried prawn and Tempura prawn is a must. Because it makes the prawn splendid and glorious in size and appearance. Prawns usually shrink when cooked due to the heat, but there is a way to stop this. So, first of all, leave only the section of the shrimp tail and peel the shell from the tail side and devein. Then, score the belly side of prawn and snap prawn muscle with a finger as the photo indicates. Also, cut off the tip of the prawn tail to avoid the oil spurting while deep frying. I explained How to prepare a prawn in more detail in my Fried Shrimp post.
Vegetables for Tempura
Basically, certain vegetables contain a lot of moisture such as tomato and cucumber. So they do not suit tempura because, by the time the moisture evaporates, the batter will be burnt. So for that reason, starchy vegetables like sweet potato, kabocha pumpkin, Renkon lotus roots are good to deep fry with the batter. Green beans and Shishito pepper are also good too and they are my favourite.
How to prepare vegetables?
It is important to slice the starchy vegetables thinly at about 5mm (0.2 inch). This is so that it cooks in a relatively short period of time before the batter burns. I used the frozen Renkon and kabocha pumpkin. If you also use frozen vegetables, make sure to wipe the excess moisture from them after defrosting. Make sure to cut the stems off shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushroom stems are quite hard and chewy and not really edible.
Tempura batter secret ingredient
Tempura isn’t that hard to make yourself but it can be a bit difficult to make it as well as they do at restaurants, which is understandable since it’s their job to make food that good. But the homemade version is still super delicious and will be a big hit at your next party! I used Japanese mayonnaise as a special little ingredient to make sure the batter stays crispy and fresh.
Why Japanese mayonnaise?
Eggs are usually used to make batter but this often makes the tempura very oily and soggy. However, by using mayonnaise instead of egg, the emulsified oil from the mayo disperses into the batter which doesn’t leave any moisture in the batter so the tempura stays deliciously crispy! If you want to know more of the science behind it you can visit the Kewpie website, (In Japanese language).
How to serve and eat Tempura?
Have you heard of a dipping sauce called Tentsuyu? Restaurants used this sauce to accompany tempura. Tentsuyu is a mix of dashi, soy sauce and mirin. It is subtly sweet with Umami flavour from dashi and really suitable for eating with Tempura. Furthermore, Matcha and yuzu salts are usually served with tempura. My favourite way is dipping into Tentsuyu.
How to make Tentsuyu?
I could not make a blog post on tempura without including the recipe for this dipping sauce as well. So below you will find the recipe for Tentsuyu. This is my daughter’s absolute favourite sauce ever, she drenches her tempura in it because she just loves the flavour so much. It’s a really tasty and sort of sweet sauce that goes perfectly with tempura.
Tips to make Crispy Tempura
The key point of crispy tempura is in its batter. When gluten forms in the batter, it will not be super crispy. So we need to make the batter carefully by following these tips.
- Use icy cold water when mixing water and flour.
- Do not stir the mixture too much to avoid gluten forming. It is even best to leave some flour powdery crumbs in the batter.
- Add secret ingredient ‘Japanese mayonnaise’. Japanese mayonnaise does not use the whole egg and is different from whole egg mayonnaise. So if you don’t have it you can omit it. And just make sure the water is icy cold and keep it refrigerated till just before you deep fry.
Byproduct and what to do with deep fry oil after?
When you remove prawn and vegetable tempura from the oil, you will see crunchy deep fried flour crumbs floating on the deep frying oil. It is called ‘Tenkasu’ which means tempura waste though they are not really a waste. They are actually quite flavorful from the prawn and vegetables deep fried and therefore often used to add some flavour to Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki.
Leaving those ‘Tenkasu’ floating in the oil will cause the oil to deteriorates. Japanese cook deep fried food often so most households have Cooking Oil Storage Grease Keeper and drain the cooking oil into the keeper and recycle the oil 2-3 times. You can also purchase an oil coagulant agent to throw the oil out. I have never found those outside Japan so what we could do instead is place scrunched paper towel or newspaper in a milk carton. Let the paper absorb the oil and reseal the carton to throw away.
Use of Tempura
Tempura is a glorious main dish in its own right, but it is also used for creating other delicious Japanese dishes. For example Tendon, Tenmusu, Tempura Udon and Tempura Soba. Tendon is rice bowl with tempura with delicious sweet sauce drizzled over. Tenmusu is a Nagoya speciality rice ball with tempura in the centre. Tempura udon and soba are those Japanese noodles with tempura. Check out my recipes.
If you liked the tips and instructions for Tempura, please rate it and leave a comment below.
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Tempura
Equipment
- Deep frying pan
Ingredients
- 4 Prawns
- 4 Slices of purple sweet potato
- 2 Slices of lenkon
- 2 Slices of shiso
- 2 Shiitake mushrooms
- 1 Chikuwa fish cake *1 optional
- Oil for deep frying
Batter
- 50 g Plain flour
- 75 ml Ice cold water
- 1 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
Tentsuyu (dipping sauce)
- 1 cup of Water
- 1/2 tbsp Dashi powder
- 1/4 cup Mirin
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce
- 1/4 cup grated daikon
Instructions
- Prepare the prawn and vegetables and set aside. *2
- Place the flour and add icey cold water and mayonnaise. Combine them together briefly (don't over-mix or it will be too gooey).
- Set aside in fridge until all ingredients and oil is ready.
- Fill a deep pan or deep-fryer with vegetable oil and heat until 180c.
- Add each ingredient (prawn & vegetable) to the batter individually to coat them and put them into the oil.
- When the prawn and vegetable is cooked, if you lift them up out of cooking oil with a pair of chopsticks you can feel tiny vibration.
- When the ingredients are cooked, place them onto a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Continue to coat and fry each ingredient until all done.
Sauce
- Add the mirin to a small sauce pan and boil on high heat for about 1 minute (this will allow all the alcohol to evaporate).
- Add the water, soy sauce, and dashi powder and bring to a boil.
- Place the sauce in a bowl and allow it to cool down then serve with the Tempura.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of Tentsuyu in a small bowl with about 1 tbsp of grated daikon to serve with Tempura. *3
Sam says
I really want to try with regular mayonnaise but afraid to ruin it.
Sam says
OK, I made this tonight and used Helman’s mayo which has eggs plus egg yolkes. I also used ice cold club soda and put the batter bowl in ice. I was surprised the tempura did turn out crispy and delicious! Our market doesn’t have daikon but I did have kohlrabi to grate which was quite similar. I used bottled tsuyu with water, but the grated kohlrabi made it seem more authentic. My guy said the tempura tasted like it was made in a restaurant! I was very happy with the results! Thank you for sharing this recipe and most importantly your secrets for a crispy texture! It’s nice to know I can do this. I don’t know if I will do it again because it is messy to make and because I ate way too much! 5 stars!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Sam 😀 I am glad to know your Tempura was successful!
Krmach says
This is a fantastic tempura batter. I made tempura using peppers, aubergines, crabstick and fish – turned out fab and it’s so easy to make. This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
Thanks!
Jessica says
This recipe was much crisper than the last tempura recipe I tried!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Jessica 😀
Derek McDoogle says
It’s interesting how in Japan, the protein source used is usually seafood. My best friend’s wife is from Japan and they will come to visit my family soon so it would be nice to take them to a good place where they serve delicious Japanese food. I will ask my wife to help me look for a restaurant to take them for dinner.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Derek, yes interesting isn’t it? I never thought about it but yes as you pointed out the protein source is usually seafood 😀
Jaycee says
I followed the recipe as closely as possible and even put my tempura batter in a bowl with some water and ice cubes to keep it cold as I cooked. I used enoki mushrooms, eggplant and red pepper. I fried them all twice for max crispiness as I’m not very fast and the first pieces that I fried started to look a little gummy. Today’s dinner was a little in a hurry so I made do with some soba sauce instead of making some. It came out really delicious and I can’t wait to do it again.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
That’s fantastic Jaycee 😀
Jam says
Shihoko thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We had it now for dinner! It’s awesome! 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi, Jam Thank you! for making Tempura with my recipe and glad to know your turned out awesome!
elizabeth miller says
I love Tempura. Whenever I have tried to male it, I just have not been able to get it crispy like we all like it. I am definitly going to try this.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Elizabeth, yes Tempura is not easy dish to make at home, but the trick I mentioned in the post always works for me 😀
Pua says
Thank you for the great tips!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome 😀
Rani says
I wanted to comment specifically because I made this recipe with a gluten-free all purpose flour I got from a grocery store, and I made some fried eggplant, now I’ve never had fried eggplant before, but this was phenomenal. I kept the batter a bit thicker, because I’ve been told when cooking eggplant you want to keep it from absorbing too much oil, and they cooked up splendidly. This batter is my favorite of every tempura I’ve tried, and I’ve tried quite a few with gf flours because I love light breading on fish and veggies.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you so much Rani. I am glad to know that the tempura butter worked for you 😀
Frank Elzi says
This Tempura recipe is so easy to follow and my first attempt was delicious.
Thank you for posting this.
Jerry says
Hi, I have some Hime Tempura Mix. Do you still recommend adding mayonnaise? We have Kewpie Mayo in the fridge. And regarding the oil, the best oil to use is sesame cooking oil, correct? One additional question regarding technique: while dining at a fancy Japanese restaurant in Tokyo, I watched the chef preparing the tempura. He didn’t just drop the battered item into the oil, but gave it a little shove and spin. I assume that’s a good way of cooking the vegetables?
Alyssa says
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. Your tips and explanations throughout the post are really helpful!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome Thank you Alyssa 😀
Pablo says
this recipe is my dream!!
Chopstick Chronicles says
wow! Thank you for your nice comment
Brian Jones says
Interesting, gotta give the mayo thing a try, I always make my tempura with a mix of cornflour and plain flour rather than all plain flour and us ice cold fizzy water, it seems to help the batter stay crispy 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Yes Brian, worth to give it a go as it is scientifically proven and on top of that if you use ice cold water like you do:D
Christine | Vermilion Roots says
Kewpie mayonnaise in the batter! So that’s the secret. 🙂 The best tempura I’ve ever had was in Tokyo. Just the right amount of batter and the sauce was great. You’ve given me the perfect recipe to recreate that experience at home.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Christine:D Hope you enjoy Tempura at home from now on.
Nazima says
thanks for this Shihoko – I LOVE tempura. Must try your special recipe and thank you so much for giving the recipe for the dipping sauce too
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Nazima:D The dipping sauce will make your Tempra real authentic Japanese Tempura:)
Teresa says
I never realized tempura is so easy to make! Do you think it will b good with a regular mayo? I don’t think I will be able to find Japanese one where I live…
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Teresa, as long as the mayo you use is made out of only egg yolk should work same as the Kewpie Japanese mayo. I will do making copy cat Kewpie Mayo recipe soon so people can not buy Kewpie one can make their own:D
Mary @ StrawmarySmith says
Tempura is a must for me every time I go to a Japanese restaurant! Thanks for this recipe. Now I can make it at home! 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you for visiting Mary. Remember to use Japanese mayo, it sounds strange but it works:D
Amanda says
I love tempura, but have never tried making it myself. I will have to pick up some Japanese mayo!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Amanda. Japanese Mayo is so versatile. You will not regret to buy it:D
Dana says
These look fantastic! Love me some tempura.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Dana:D
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Ah, so now we know the trick….Japanese mayo!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Yes Dorothy:D Japanese mayo is the queen of condiment! I love the versatility of Japanese mayo and they are scientifically proven.
AiPing | Curious Nut says
I love tempura. I’ve always thought that tempura needed thick coating until I went to a super Japanese place and their tempura coating looked thin and pale and I thought what kind of tempura is this. Little did I know…. it was one of the best ones I’ve even and it changed me.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you AiPing. Tempura is tricky to make, not to thin, not to thick and have to be crispy. Using Japanese mayo in batter is the secret:D