Don’t lose your tempura
Nobody likes a temper tantrum (except maybe the former guy). So, we hark back to the wisdom of our elders who told us don’t lose your tempura. Whoops, did it again. For some reason, tempura is on my mind. maybe because it’s national tempura day. Everyone thinks of Tempura as this wonderful Japanese dish. And, it is. But, guess what. It’s not a Japanese Invention. In fact, it was Portuguese people who introduced it to japan in the 1500’s. Legend has it that Portuguese visitors to Japan taught the art of deep frying in oil with a dish they called peixinhos da horta (batter Fried Green Beans). And, just like Toyota would later dominate the international car market, The Japanese ran with a great idea and made it their own.
So, what is tempura, and what makes it so good? Well, as most Americans will tell you, anything deep fried is the best. Hell, we’ll eat deep fried butter, battered fat, fried in fat. And, of Course, America runs on Dunks. Well, I wouldn’t say runs, more like waddles. Donuts are sugar, fat, and flour fried in fat. So, it makes sense that the Japanese have caught the attention of America with their national battered and fried delicacy. And, for my tastes it’s even better: The best tempura is basically a beer batter. And, you know how much Only Cumin loves beer. Plus, some of my best friends are Portuguese and I drive a Japanese car. So, what’s not to like?
Table of Contents
If you like fish and Chips, Don’t lose your tempura
If you look up tempura, chances are you’ll see an image of crispy golden brown Tempura battered Shrimp. Being surrounded by water and harking back to the Portuguese roots, seafood in tempura batter makes sense. Around here, beer batter fish and chips is popular, that’s because we are near the ocean. The same holds true in England, and of course, Japan is an island. So, batter fried seafood is a natural. Nowadays, you can even get variations of sushi with beer battered fish in it.
But, it doesn’t have to be just fish. Remember peixinhos da horta started the whole tempura thing. And, that was fried green beans. Just like Americans frying anything, you can make tempura out of pretty much anything as well. Think all manners of vegetables, mushrooms, even potatoes, beef, pork, chicken, pretty much anything you can eat, battering and frying makes it better. But, as Marge says: “I didn’t say they couldn’t, I said you shouldn’t.”
What makes tempura so good?
Even though you can pretty much deep fry anything, tempura seems to have an allure all it’s own. Perhaps it’s the allure of the far East? It seems to be lighter and cleaner than Western versions of batter. The batter is very simple: egg, flour, and liquid. I’ve seen recipes where they use AP flour and water. But, I find that the gluten of regular flour tends to create a chewiness. So, we prefer rice flour or, at least the addition of corn starch to regular flour. These give the crunch that tempura lovers crave.
And, the addition of beer always makes everything better. But, like we said in our National Lager day post, it’s about beer choice. Usually, we look for a heartier ale. But, a light lager is best for tempura. Think TsingTao or Sapporo, even Heineken. And, it gives the batter a golden hue. Plus, the carbonation creates air pockets in the batter that add to its crunch.
Even the egg is optional. You can simply mix liquid and flour. It makes for a very light batter. But, without the egg to bind, the batter may not stick as well.
Speed and Precision
No matter what goes into your batter, though, the trick is to work fast: hot oil, and get the food product in and out of the batter quickly. But, don’t rush. You are working with hot oil. Burns can occur easily. And, unlike pre-breaded items that can be put in a basket and lowered into the oil, tempura has to be hand dipped and dropped directly in the oil. You want to dangle it in the oil to prevent it from sinking to the bottom and burning. So, the oil has to be at the right temperature, and you have to keep your hand just above the oil, careful not to fry your fingers.And, don’t lose your temperature or tempura.
This is the part that scares most people away from batter frying. It requires speed and precision. As a side note, that phrase has been with me my entire cooking career. The lead cook at a Country club I worked at told me it’s all about speed and precision. And, that phrase keeps bringing new meaning throughout my life. It’s not just working as fast as you can, but at the right speed for the situation. And, it has to be coupled with precision. Frying tempura is definitely one of those situations. If you aren’t precise, you will get burned. And, you want to dip quickly, move the dipped item to the oil before the batter drips off, and hold it in the oil, swirling at the right speed, for the right amount of time to allow it to start to float and cook properly.
Learn the technique, and don’t lose your tempura
As with all things in life, practice makes perfect. Tempura isn’t something people do all the time. If you go to a Japanese restaurant, you may marvel at the dexterity and artistry of the person frying tempura. Don’t feel intimidated. If you spend 8 hours a day for weeks, months, or years, you’ll get pretty good to. Even if you only do it every once in a while, you may be tentative with the first few dips. But, once you get a rhythm going, you’ll be just fine.
The beauty of tempura is it’s fluidity. While having a standardized recipe is good. Just like the batter, itself, your interpretation can be fluid. Start with a recipe, then play with the ratio of liquid to flour. Add or remove the egg. See what you come up with. Do you want something with excessive body, where the batter is the star of the dish? Or, do you want something that practically drips off the food item, simply adding a coating and crunch. Remember, tempura arrived in Japan via Portugal. So, if you have a more Western approach, it’s not wrong. You do you.
No Air Fryers
Air Fryers are all the rage nowadays. But, they can’t do the most basic thing that frying can: cook batter. You can do it. But, you have to adjust the batter to be thicker. And, you have to pre-dredge the food in flour or cornstarch to make the batter stick. In short, the batter isn’t the same, and the final product won’t be either. Tempura batter drips off as you go from bowl to fryer. Try putting a light batter in hot air, there is nothing to hold it in place. Deep frying in oil is the only way to get the batter to cook properly. It’s basic physic, the hot oil holds the batter in place, while air can’t do that.
You can use a pot on a stove top or a free standing electric or gas fryer with temperature controls. We would recommend the latter for consistency sake. Although, it requires kitchen space, more oil, and, the periodic cleaning can be a bit of a chore. For most people, though, a frying machine isn’t necessarily an option. Unless you fry more than once a week, save the money and space: just use the pot method. But, don’t start a fire.And, you’ll have to get the right temperature by adjusting your flame manually. You can check the oil temperature with a fry oil or candy thermometer. Or you can learn the feel of the temperature as you go along.
So, let’s fry that shirt and don’t lose your tempura
No, perhaps we shouldn’t. So, let’s do something more predictable and fry food. The Portuguese inventors of tempura had the perfect item to test the batter with: Green beans. They are long and thin enough that you can dip them in the oil without fear of burning your fingers before you let go. And, they cook pretty quick. Plus, they are really freaking good. So, when you start making tempura, start there to get used to the method. Then, move onto other foods. But as XTC once sang: Don’t lose your tempura, Or something like that.
What you will need to fry tempura:
- A heavy gauge pot or fryer deep enough to accommodate a few inches of oil.
- A neutral Frying oil with a high smoke temperature: canola, peanut, or vegetable oils tend to work well
- A large enough mixing bowl to allow you to dredge food into the batter and let excess batter drip off
- Pans or plates lined with paper towels to dry the fried tempura on
- Tongs, spoons with holes, or frying “spiders” to retrieve the fried food from the oil
- A thermometer to check oil temperature if necessary
- Eggs, flour, liquid, seasoning, and food to fry. A dipping sauce is also recommended. Soy sauce is fine. But, you can jazz it up with something more complex too.
Now that you know what you need, here;s a recipe to get you started:
Lemon Tempura Vegetables with Ginger Plum Sauce
Equipment
- Fryer or pot to fry in
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 Lb Fresh Vegetables, green beans are a must, the rest is up to you: Eggplant, zucchini, carrots, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Onions, or more
- 1 Lb Rice Flour May substitute 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 cornstarch
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Bottle lager or pilsner beer, the lighter the better
- 1 Whole Lemon, just the zest and juice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- For Dip:
- 1 Cup Whole Fresh Plums, pit removed
- 1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Ginger
- 2 Cup Seasoned Rice wine vinegar or Mirin
- 1/4 Cup Tamari Soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- Oil to fry
Instructions
- Make the plum sauce. Cut the plums into one inch pieces. Saute the plums and ginger, in a little bit of oil, over medium high heat until they begin to soften and break down. Add the mirin or rice wine vinegar and bring to a boil. Taper off to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half and the plums are falling apart. Add the honey and tamari. Then blend until smooth. You can do this with an immersion blender in the pot or in a stationary blender. Cool down for service.
- Set up your frying station: Put at least 3 inches of oil in a pot on a stove or fill your frying machine to the proper level. Get your equipment together: Frying spiders, tongs, bowl to mix batter in, paper towels and pans or plates to dry the tempura on.
- Cut your vegetables. Green beans can be whole. For best results, try cutting everything in similar sizes so they will cook at about the same rate.
- make the batter: Whisk your egg. Add the flour, lemon juice and zest. and Begin whisking. Pour the beer in a little at a time, and continue whisking until the batter is at a consistency you like. You may want to add the whole beer or stop when it is a little thicker. Adding the whole beer will result in a pretty thin batter. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil to about 350 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, watch the oil. It will move freely about. drop a little batter in. If it bubbles up and forms a ball, your temperature should be about right. You can adjust the flame too. remember. when you add food in, the temperature of the oil will drop, so you can regulate the temperature by adjusting the flame.
- Dip your vegetables in the batter one at a time. Shake off extra batter and bring the dipped item to the oil. Swirl the item a little bit until it begins to float up a little bit. Then, let go and let it fry. repeat this step until you have an amount of vegetables in the pot that you feel comfortable keeping an eye on. You will notice that the underside of the vegetables will begin to get more color than the top. Flip the vegetables at this point to get an even color. Cook until golden brown, remove from the oil onto paper towels. Repeat this process until all the vegetables are done.