Tempura
Tempura is Japanese seafood and vegetables dipped in a thin, ice-cold batter and deep-fried until light and crisp. See why the batter should stay lumpy.
Also called Tempura batter, Tenpura.
Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood and vegetables dipped in a thin batter and deep-fried. The coating is pale, lacy and very crisp, not thick and bready. It is served hot with a light dipping sauce or a pinch of salt. Shrimp, white fish, sweet potato, eggplant, mushrooms and green beans are common choices.
How to do it
- Dry all the pieces well. Cut vegetables into thin slices or sticks. Make a few shallow cuts on the belly of shrimp so they stay straight.
- Heat a neutral oil with a high smoke point to about 170 to 180°C (340 to 355°F).
- Right before frying, mix 1 egg yolk with 200 ml (generous ¾ cup) of ice-cold water. Add 100 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) of flour all at once.
- Stir just a few times with chopsticks. Leave it thin and lumpy.
- Dust each piece lightly in flour, dip in batter, let the extra drip off, and lower it into the oil.
- Fry a few pieces at a time for 1 to 3 minutes, until the batter is crisp and only lightly colored.
- Drain on a wire rack and serve right away.
Why it works
Cold water and very little mixing keep gluten from forming in the flour. Without gluten, the batter fries into a thin, brittle shell instead of a chewy coat. Cold batter hitting hot oil also makes the surface puff and crisp quickly.
Common mistakes
- Whisking the batter smooth. It turns heavy and doughy.
- Making the batter ahead. It warms up and starts to form gluten.
- Crowding the pot. The oil cools and the tempura goes greasy.
- Frying too dark. Good tempura is pale gold.
In recipes
The usual dipping sauce, tentsuyu, is made from dashi, soy sauce and mirin, served with grated daikon radish. Tempura is also served on rice (tendon) or on noodles. "Tempura flour" in shops is a ready-mixed low-protein flour. Tempura is a kind of fritter, but it is lighter than most Western ones.
Where it comes from
Portuguese traders brought the idea of battered frying to Japan in the 16th century. Japanese cooks developed it into the light style known today.
Related terms
- Deep-fryDeep-frying cooks food fully submerged in hot oil, usually 170 to 190°C (340 to 375°F), for a crisp shell and a moist inside. Here is how to do it safely.
- FritterA fritter is a piece of food dipped in batter, or mixed into it, and deep- or shallow-fried until crisp. See the oil heat and how to avoid greasy ones.
- GlutenGluten is the stretchy protein network that forms when wheat flour meets water. It gives bread its chew and structure, and too much makes cakes tough.
- DashiDashi is the light Japanese stock made from kombu and bonito flakes. It is the base of miso soup and many sauces, and takes under 30 minutes to make.
- Smoke pointThe smoke point is the temperature at which an oil or fat starts to smoke and break down. It tells you which fats suit searing and frying.
- Wire rackA wire rack lets air reach every side of food, so cakes and bread cool without going soggy and roasted food stays crisp. Here is how to use one.