Vegetable Tempura With Soy Dipping Sauce Recipes

VEGETABLE TEMPURA WITH SOY & DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Make the batter (see right). Cover a baking tray with sheets of kitchen paper. Start to heat a deep-fat frying pan or large wok a third full of oil and have the frying basket, or slotted spoon to hand
• When the oil reaches 190C dip some of the prepared veg briefly into the batter, shake off any excess, then lower straight into the hot oil. Don't crowd the frying basket. Fry for about 2 mins until light golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
• Repeat with the remaining vegetables in batches, dipping into the batter just before you fry them and remember to let the oil heat back up to temperature between each batch. Keep the tempura warm in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar so that they stay crisp. They are best served immediately on a warm plate with the sauce alongside for dipping.

DIPPING SAUCE FOR TEMPURA VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Using a ginger grater or the fine side of a box grater, grate ginger root. Fold a 12-inch square of cheesecloth into quarters. Place the grated ginger in corner of cheesecloth. Working over a medium bowl, tightly wring the ginger in order to extract the juice. Discard the cheesecloth and the remaining root.
• Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, 3 tablespoons water, mirin, scallion, lemon juice, and vinegar to the ginger juice. Whisk to combine. Dipping sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.

TEMPURA BATTER & DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Mix dry ingredients well. Add very cold seltzer or beer until desired thickness is acheived. Mix in a little at a time. Mix gently to retain carbonation. Mixture should be used right away while the mixture has the most carbonation. Note: Add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and buttermilk instead of beer or seltzer for a more bread like batter. Let sit a couple of minutes until bubbly Use right away while still bubbly for a crispier result.
• 2. Make sure the oil for frying is very hot or the food will soak up too much oil and be greasy and soggy. The bits of food should be small and will float to the top when done. They should be golden brown. The more done they are the longer they will stay crispy. Fry in small batches to retain the heat in the oil. Drain on paper towels serve on a plain or fancy paper doily. Serve immediately. Note: Make the batter in small batches so when the batter goes flat a new one can be made and more seltzer or beer can be added. I buy the small bottles of seltzer instead of the larger bottles. Bigger bottles lose their carbonation after awhile. For Gluten Free, try garbanzo (chickpea) flour.
• 3. Here is a traditional dipping sauce: Tamari (wheat free) or soy sauce (wheat and soy) A few drops of sesame oil A little water or sake to dilute 1/4 teaspoon of sugar (optional) Dash of cayenne or white pepper (optional) 1/2 teaspoon chopped scallion (green tops only) Mix well. Note: Use very little sake as it will make the sauce a slightly bitter. Add a couple of drops of lemon or orange juice for shrimp tempura. I promised this recipe to member Areatha and dedicate it to her! I hope all of you enjoy it~!

TEMPURA DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in dashi, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in mirin and soy sauce.

VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Steps:

• Combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. As soon as the dipping sauce comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
• Combine the yolks and water in a bowl, mixing until they're incorporated, then add the ice cubes (the "wet" part of the batter). In another bowl or container, add the flour (the "dry" part of the batter).
• When you're almost ready to cook the tempura, reheat dipping sauce over low heat. Grate the daikon on the coarsest side of a box grater. Squeeze out excess liquid and set aside. Grate the ginger finely and set aside. Keep the sauce warm while you prepare a tempura cooking station.
• To prepare a tempura cooking station, beside your burner, arrange the vegetables, a plate with the ½ cup of cake flour, and the wet and dry parts of the batter. Also, ready a tray lined with paper towels or newspaper to absorb the excess oil from the cooked vegetables, and the tools you'll need: chopsticks, a metal strainer, and a candy thermometer, if you have one. Place a cooking vessel on the burner; use one with a uniform size to heat oil evenly, like a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven (don't use a wok). Add the vegetable oil and sesame oil.
• Heat the oil to 360°F over high heat. When the oil has reached 360°F, prepare to cook the vegetables in batches. Be careful not to overfill the skillet, which will lower the cooking temperature; use, at most, half of the surface area of the oil to cook. While the tempura is cooking, check the oil temperature with a candy thermometer. Regulate the heat to maintain a constant 360°F oil temperature. If the oil is too hot, the tempura will burn; if too low, the tempura will come out soggy and greasy.
• When you're ready to cook the tempura, quickly add the flour (the "dry") to the liquid (the "wet"), in one shot. Hold 4 chopsticks together, the tips pointed down, like you're grabbing a bottle. Stab at the batter with the chopsticks, mashing down again and again to combine the dry and wet parts. Do not stir; you barely want to mix the batter. Mix for about 30 seconds, or until the batter becomes loose and liquidy, with the consistency of heavy cream. It should be lumpy, with visible gobs of dry flour floating in the liquid, and with unmixed flour sticking to the sides of the bowl. Remember, if you overmix the batter, you'll ruin it.
• Lightly dredge the vegetables in the reserved cake flour, then dip into the batter. Immediately lay the vegetables in the hot oil. Working in batches, deep-fry the harder vegetables like sweet potato, carrot, or lotus root first, for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables turn golden brown. Transfer the vegetables to the prepared tray to drain excess oil. Repeat with the other vegetables. Cook softer vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, and pumpkin for about 2 minutes. For shiso leaves, dredge only one side of the leaf with flour, and cook for about 1 minute.
• Serve the vegetable tempura with the grated daikon and ginger on the side of the warmed dipping sauce. When you're ready to eat, add the daikon and ginger to the dipping sauce and dip the tempura into it.