Vegetable Tempura

Can you tell I went a little tempura crazy with that plate above? Having replenished my fridge with fresh produce this a past weekend, I couldn't resist to doing a little veggie fry. I remember when I used to eat out at a Japanese restaurant and get one of those bento lunches, I'd always save the cream cheese rangoons and tempura for last.

Clockwise from the top: spinach leaves, string beans (chopped in 4-inch sticks), a few sliced baby eggplants, an avocado and half an onion. You read right. I've tempura-ized the avocado. Hey...some places do it with ice cream. Though, it turned a bit soggy straight out of the fryer. Still good though. Also, if you ever decide to tempura-ize an avocado, make sure you eat it last because it will fill you up.

The batter makes 1 - 1 1/2 c. I served this with a simple soy sauce and lemon dip.



Veggie Tempura

Batter
1 c All-Purpose Flour
1 c COLD water
1 egg (beaten)

Your choice of veggies

(Note: To make it a true Japanese batter, use only the egg white. Thanks to Robert-Gilles of Shizuoka Gourmet for the suggestion)

Mix the three ingredients together, do NOT mix it into a smooth batter. You just want to combine them. Lumps in the batter are a good thing in this case.

Frying

Preheat you fryer or pot with out at least 3-4 inches deep. until it's about 350˚F.

To know when it is ready, drop a dot of batter into the oil. If the batter immediately floats, you're ready to fry. Make sure you lay out some paper towel or some paper underneath a rack to soak up the excess oil.

Dredge the pieces of veggies in the batter and carefully drop them into the hot oil.

Spinach leaves will take roughly 1-2 min. All other veggies generally take 3-4 mins.

Serve immediately to prevent from getting soggy.

Avocado tempura on the left.