Japanese Tempura

This dish is authentic and FUN! This is an interactive meal where you can really only serve one person at a time, but Anticipation is a great conversationalist. So gather a crowd or your family and enjoy!

I serve Teriyaki Beef over rice as a time and tummy filler while I cook the veggies and chicken and I pass the food out as it comes right off the Wok.

Get some help from a trusty assistant, it's a little tricky to do on your own without a lot of practice.

Fried food of any kind isn't good cold which is why I do this in "turns" and once everyone's had some of everything hot off the Wok I take requests for more.

Ready?Cut up a bunch of your favorite veggies that you like "cooked".

I used One large yam, 1/2 an onion, 1/2 bag of jullianned carrots (or 3-4 regular carrots sliced) and one Zuke for every 4-5 people. You'll want these sliced very thin so they cook rather quickly for you. They're also very pretty done this way. (my zuke was WAY too thick, I got a better knife after that :)

Suggested Veggies:
Anything you like! Green Beans are good too. A nice color variety is great for palatability.
HINT: Cut items early and store in bags:

Also cut some chicken up in strips only about 1/2 inch thick and as "long" of strips as possible.
HINT: When I serve a lot of people I have the butcher cut these for me (free!) to save time.

I tried to take a pic of the strips raw, but they looked like big pink worms as uncooked chicken tends to do. So no pic here :)

I will sometimes skewer my chicken on little bamboo skewers and fry them skewer and all, they're pretty that way but here I skipped the skewers. I didn't have an assistant.

You'll want about a cup of veggies and 3-5 strips of chicken for each person

Heat up an electric Wok Frying pan, or Fry Daddy filled with oil to 350 degrees or so, fill with Canola oil for a higher smoking temperature than vegetable oil but either is fine. You'll need to have enough room and oil in there to completely submerge 4 or 5 items at once without them touching.

Next mix up your Batter, This makes enough for 5-6 people:

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups ice water
2 eggs


Take ICE water, Flour and Eggs and whisk together. The ICE water is important, cold batter equals LACY, Pretty Tempura.

Mix and adjust your ingredients until the batter is slightly thickened. Thick enough for the batter to cling to the food when you dip it.

Too thin? Add more flour....to thick...add more water.....etc. It takes a bit to get it right. This recipe is never the same every time! Keep it COLD add ice or set in another bowl of ice.

When oil and batter are ready and so is your audience, dip an item in the batter and place in Wok:



Cook all items just until the batter is slightly browned, remove with a metal strainer or tongs and place on some paper towels to drip dry.
You can cook a few items at a time. Let the chicken cook the longest but it's done sooner than you think, Just watch for the batter to turn slightly browned and you're good!



It should look nice and "Lacy" and crispy. Serve on a new paper towel with some soy sauce to dip in (not shown) and keep cookin! This is a tasty treat and my son's favorite so I made it for his Birthday this time. Enjoy!