Tempura Batter Recipes

Mention tempura and even a novice will tell you that it is a Japanese specialty wherein a batter of cold, sparkling water is mixed with some all-purpose flour and eggs, and to which baking soda, spices, canola or sesame oil is also thrown in, along with starch. Now in this batter either, fish, shrimp or vegetables are dipped and then they are deep-fried for only a couple of moments. Perfect. But the twist in the tale? The history of tempura, bears witness that it is basically a Portuguese delicacy which was initiated among the people of Japan by the Portuguese monks and businessmen, only in the middle of the 1500s. It was during the days of quattuor tempora or the holy Lent days when the monks chose to consume only vegetables and types of fish, in a bid to keep away from eating meat. So they used spices to season their food and ate them during this "time period" which in Latin is tempora and from which comes today's word Japanese 'tempura'. So, how do you make tempura batter at home and enjoy this Japanese treat without incurring travel costs to Japan? Simple. Just follow these elementary tempura batter recipes and you can teach your children all about the rich Japanese culture while they gorge on these delectable chewies.

Tempura Batter Recipe for Vegetables

This is the traditional Japanese kakiage, made from assorted veggies, served with the condiment called tentsuyu. For a small group of 6, see to it that you gather these for the tempura batter.

• Water, 1 cup (ice-cold)
• All-purpose flour, 1 cup
• Egg whites, 2
• Baking powder, ½ tsp.
• Salt, ½ tsp.
• Ice cubes, 2

As for the tempura, you need to assort,

• Eggplant, 1 (large, slivered into finger length pieces)
• Cauliflower, 1 (small, cubed into 2" chunks)
• Capsicum, 2 (cut into strips ½" thick)
• Onion, 1 (large, cut into thick rings)
• Button mushrooms, 200 gms (washed, drained, and kept whole)
• Babycorn, 150 gms (washed, dried and kept whole)
• Canola oil, enough for deep-frying (sesame, tea seed, or vegetable oil would also do)

Finally, for the dip,

• Dashi or Japanese soup stock, 1 cup (cold, any other stock variety would also do)
• Soy sauce or shoyu, 1 cup (light)
• Dry white wine, 1 tbsp.
• Sugar, 2 tsp.

Procedure

Now let us begin. In order to make the tempura batter, in a large vessel, whip the egg whites to a foam and allow them to stand for a short while. Next, sieve the flour and salt together and add this to the eggs, along with water and baking powder to it. Gently stir this concoction twice and not more as it needs to be a little lumpy. Use chopsticks to stir, if you have any. Do not mix it vigorously as otherwise the gluten in the wheat will get actuated and on frying the crispness will be lost. Add the ice cubes to this vessel and allow it to stand undisturbed.

Now move on to making the dip. Just mix together the soy sauce, dashi, dry wine, and the sugar and stir till the sugar gets dissolved.

Finally, for the tempura, heat the oil in a wok until it becomes smoking hot. Maintain the temperature between 160 to 180° C on a medium flame. Nock or mark the surface of the eggplant and capsicum pieces, with a knife, so that they do not burst open while frying. Now, with the help of tongs, dip each vegetable piece into the batter and then make sure the excess batter drips off. Now allow it to fry in the oil until it takes on a brownish tinge and then transfer it on some tissue paper. Also, remember to remove the remnant tiny fried batter bits from the oil, with a ladle, after you take out each batch of fried veggies, so that the oil doesn't take on a burnt aroma.

You tempura is now totally ready. Just place the fried veggies on individual plates and serve with the dip. Also, grate some ginger and radish and serve so that people can add it to their dips as per their preferences while eating. This dish is again very resemblant of the Bengali version of fried eggplant strips, called beguni.

Tempura Batter Recipe for Fish

Now this is perfect for a foursome family movie night. You'll need to have,

• Rice flour, ¼ cup and 2 tbsp.
• Water, ½ cup (cold, sparkling)
• Cornstarch, 1 fl. ounce
• Egg white, 1
• Parsley, 1 tsp.
• Paprika, ½ tsp.
• Salt, ½ tsp.
• Baking powder, ¼ tsp.
• Garlic powder, ¼ tsp.
• Baking soda, a pinch

Procedure

Whip the egg white until it foams. Then add the flour, water, cornstarch, parsley, paprika, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder and salt to it and mix well until it forms a uniform liquid with air bubbles present. Your tempura batter is ready for the whole fish or fish chunks to be dipped and then deep-fried with the best deep-frying oil, canola. Serve with some tentsuyu or squeeze some lime juice on the tempura, along with shredded radish called daikon in Japan! Use minced or chunked halibut, tuna, monkey fish, or whole rainbow smelt for this recipe.

Tempura Batter Recipe for Shrimp

Now, this tempura batter for shrimp recipe will hardly take 30 minutes of yours in the kitchen and will satiate seafood lovers beyond expectation! See to it that you have,

• Rice flour, ¾ cup
• Water, 1 cup (cold and sparkling)
• Egg white, 1
• Cornstarch, ¼ cup
• Kosher salt, ½ tsp.
• Baking soda, a pinch
• Shrimp, 1 pound (kept whole)

Procedure

First rub salt on the shrimp and place them aside on the kitchen counter. Now mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and some salt uniformly. In another vessel, whip the egg white and water together to arrive at a smooth consistency and then pour it onto the flour mixture.

Next heat canola oil or a suitable canola oil substitute such as peanut oil, in a wok to a maintained temperature of between 160 to 180° C. Dip each shrimp into the dip and shake off the excess. Then fry for approximately 3 minutes each, until they become golden brown with a aeriform crust and then place them on paper napkins so as to get rid of the excess oil.

So, there you have perfectly healthy and easy tempura batter snacks which will surely be big time hits among your kids. Try them out soon and do not forget to tell me how well they fared in your family!