Vegetable tempura with ginger ponzu sauce

This delicious vegetable tempura with ginger ponzu sauce makes for a great snack or starter. You can use your favorite vegetables for this recipe!

VEGETABLE TEMPURA WITH GINGER PONZU SAUCE

Tempura is a typical Japanese dish of ingredients of your choice that are coated in a light and airy and batter and then deep fried. For this recipe I’m working with fresh vegetables: broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, green beans, red pepper and courgette. But there are so many other great options to choose from. For instance, spring onion, green asparagus, green shiso leaves, cauliflower or pumpkin. It’s your party! And in case you’re into seafood, tempura prawns are really delicious.

TIPS FOR A CRISPY TEMPURA BATTER

For this recipe I used a batter of flour, cornstarch, egg, salt and cold carbonated water. For the batter to be crispy it’s important that you use fridge cold sparkling water and that you don’t overmix the batter. A few lumps are actually desired and you don’t want to develop any gluten by stirring too much. Prepare your vegetables first, heat up the oil and only then start making the batter.

GINGER PONZU DIPPING SAUCE

The crispy tempura cannot be served without a dipping sauce of course. Ponzu is a Japanese soy-based sauce with citrus. It’s often made with dashi, which is a stock made out of kombu (seaweed) and bonito fish flakes. As I didn’t have any dashi at home, I’ve made it without, and it’s just as tasty! I’ve used both lemon and orange juice to give that fresh and tangy flavour.  This is what you’ll need for the ginger ponzu dipping sauce:

• 1-2 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce (preferably Japanese low-sodium)
• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp mirin (Japanese rice wine)

equipement:

• deep-fat fryer

I hope that I’ve inspired you to make some tempura. I’d love to see your beautiful creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

Vegetable tempura with ginger ponzu sauce

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Serves: 2 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.0/5

( 10 voted )

Ingredients

Tempura:

• 500 gr mixed vegetables
• 80 gr all purpose flour
• 40 gr cornflour
• 1 cold egg
• 200 ml cold carbonated water
• Pinch of fine salt
• Vegetable oil for frying

Ginger Ponzu sauce:

• 1 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce (preferably Japanese low-sodium)
• 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp mirin (Japanese rice wine)

Instructions

Vegetable tempura with ginger ponzu sauce

1. Preheat the oil to 180°C  (356°F) and prepare a large plate with a few layers of kitchen paper.
2. Wash and drain the vegetable and cut into bite size pieces. Some vegetables can be left whole, like green beans.
3. Prepare the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients.
4. Once the oil is hot, prepare the batter. Whisk the egg in a bowl and add the fizzy water, salt and both flours. Lightly mix with some chopsticks until combined. Don't overmix, a few lumps is fine.
5. Coat the vegetables individually with the batter and deep fry until golden brown. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot, so work in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle lightly with some fine salt.
6. Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!

Notes

Use ice cold carbonated water for your batter // Don't overmix the batter, a few lumps are OK // Don't overcrowd the pot while frying.