Japanese · Lunch or dinner

Vegetable Tempura with Rice

Name: Vegetable Tempura with Rice
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch rounds; ½ lb kabocha squash, sliced 1/4-inch wedges, skin on; 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite pieces; 6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed; 12 green beans, trimmed; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp cornstarch; 1 cup ice-cold club soda, VERY cold, from fridge; 4 cups neutral oil, for deep-frying; 1½ cups white rice, rinsed; 2 cups water (for dashi); 1 piece kombu, 4x4-inch piece; ¼ cup bonito flakes; ¼ cup soy sauce; ¼ cup mirin; ½ cup daikon radish, grated, lightly squeezed; 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Lacy-crisp battered veg, tentsuyu dipping sauce and rice.

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Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min
Makes: 4 servings
Skill: Comfortable
Heat: Mild, adjustable

Pescatarian Halal Contains gluten Contains soy Contains fish

Maui says

The batter MUST stay ice-cold and lumpy. The shock of cold-batter-into-hot-oil is what gives tempura its lacy, eggshell crust. Smooth batter = thick, chewy crust.

Ingredients

Everything below makes 4 servings.

1 mediumsweet potatopeeled, sliced 1/4-inch rounds
½ lbkabocha squashsliced 1/4-inch wedges, skin on
2 cupsbroccoli floretscut into bite pieces
6shiitake mushroomsstems removed
12green beanstrimmed
1 cupall-purpose flour
2 tbspcornstarch
1 cupice-cold club sodaVERY cold, from fridge
4 cupsneutral oilfor deep-frying
1½ cupswhite ricerinsed
2 cupswater (for dashi)
1 piecekombu4x4-inch piece
¼ cupbonito flakes
¼ cupsoy sauce
¼ cupmirin
½ cupdaikon radishgrated, lightly squeezed
1 tspfresh gingergrated

In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.

Nutrition

Per serving, as written.

480calories
9gprotein
72gcarbs
18gfat

Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.

Instructions

Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.

Before you start

Start rice.
Slice all vegetables - uniform thickness fries evenly. Pat very dry; water = oil spatter.
Grate daikon and ginger; squeeze daikon lightly.
Wipe kombu with damp cloth.
Set up wire rack near the stove for draining.

Tentsuyu sauce

Steep kombu in 2 cup water on medium heat 8 min to just-before-simmer. Remove kombu. Bring to brief boil, add bonito, off heat, steep 2 min. Strain. Return to pot; add soy sauce and mirin. Simmer 3 min. Set aside.

13 min · hands off

Heat oil

Pour oil into deep skillet to 2-inch depth. Heat to 340°F (a drop of batter should sink halfway, then rise immediately).

8 min · hands on

Mix batter

Whisk flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Add ice-cold club soda. Stir VERY briefly with chopsticks - leave lumps. Overmixed = chewy crust. Use within 5 min.

1 min · hands on

Fry in batches

Dust each vegetable lightly with flour first (helps batter cling). Dip in batter, let excess drip, gently lower into oil. Fry in small batches 90 sec - 2 min until pale gold (not deep brown). Drain on wire rack. Salt lightly while hot.

12 min · hands on

Serve

Plate tempura with a mound of rice. Pour tentsuyu into small bowls. Add a small pinch of grated daikon and ginger to each tentsuyu bowl. Dip and eat immediately - crispness has a 5-minute clock.

1 min · hands on

Make it yours

Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.

Instead of vegetable medley Add shrimp tempura (not pescatarian-restricted)

Add peeled shrimp; fry same batter same time, ~2 min.

Instead of steamed white rice Brown rice

Start brown rice ~40 min ahead. Adds about 20 minutes.

Gluten free Rice flour for all-purpose flour, tamari for soy sauce

Blend 3:1 with cornstarch for the batter. Check label - some tamari contains wheat.

Vegan For bonito flakes

Make a kombu-shiitake dashi instead - steep the kombu with a dried shiitake or two for depth.

What keeps

Tempura is a fresh-only proposition - the lacy crust is gone within 20 min, dead within an hour. Cook to order.

You CAN prep the veg and dipping sauce a day ahead.

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