You can tempura all kinds of veggies, but our favorite is sweet potatoes. We also like broccoli and onions. You could also try zucchini, carrots, cauliflower… If you do green beans you’ll have to par boil them a little first as they’re pretty tough customers.
The most important things to remember are:
Slice your veggies thin so they’ll cook through, about 1/8 inch.
Don’t over mix your batter or the gluten will develop and it will be tough. Mix just until combined, leaving little clumps throughout. Don’t try to make it smooth.
Use ice cold water for the crispiest batter. In fact you can throw a couple of ice cubes in your batter to keep it cold while you work.
Make the batter thin to get a light crispy coating. You should be able to see the vegetables through the batter and it will look like you don’t have enough of a coating. If the batter obscures the veggies, it will be too thick and chewy.
Work in small batches. Don’t crowd the pot. Fry at about 365 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, when you drop in a bit of batter and it falls half way to the bottom of the pot and then rises to the surface, it’s perfect. If it goes all the way to the bottom, the oil is too cold. If it doesn’t sink a little first, it’s too hot.
Fish out the extra crumbles of fired batter between batches so they don’t burn and stick to your veggies, ruining the taste.
Drain on paper towels before eating. I put them on a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and put them in a 200 degree oven to stay warm while I fry all my veggies.
1-1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
Ice cold water to make a thin batter
DIPPING SAUCE
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon sliced green onion
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons water
Simmer on medium low a couple of minutes to dissolve the sugar and blend flavors