Vegetable Tempura

Sweet potato, aubergine, courgette and mushrooms in a light, crisp batter, with a mooli dipping sauce.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 45 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 1 small sweet potato, about 200g, peeled and cut into 5mm slices
  • 1 small aubergine, cut into 5mm slices
  • 1 courgette, cut into 5mm diagonal slices
  • 8 chestnut mushrooms, halved
  • About 1 litre sunflower oil, for deep frying
  • For the batter: 100g plain flour
  • For the batter: 50g cornflour
  • For the batter: 1 large egg, chilled
  • For the batter: 200ml ice-cold sparkling water
  • For the dipping sauce: 100ml water
  • For the dipping sauce: 3 tbsp light soy sauce
  • For the dipping sauce: 3 tbsp mirin
  • For the dipping sauce: 3 tbsp finely grated mooli (daikon)

Method

  1. For the dipping sauce, heat the water, soy sauce and mirin in a small pan until boiling, simmer for 1 minute and pour into small bowls. Add a spoonful of grated mooli to each.

  2. Pat the vegetables dry with kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based pan, filling it no more than one-third full, to 180°C, using a cooking thermometer. Never leave hot oil unattended.

  3. Just before frying, lightly mix the flour, cornflour, egg and sparkling water in a bowl with chopsticks until barely combined; leave the lumps and do not overmix.

  4. Dip the vegetables in the batter, let the excess drip off and fry in small batches: sweet potato for 3 to 4 minutes, aubergine and mushrooms for 2 to 3 minutes and courgette for 2 minutes, until pale golden and crisp.

  5. Drain on a wire rack or kitchen paper and serve straight away with the dipping sauce.