Yen Can Cook ~ Tempura Pumpkin
I don’t know about you, but I know I can’t resist those crispy, pipping hot battered and deep fried vegetables and prawns aka Tempura, which is commonly found on the menu of Japanese restaurants. Sweet potato, pumpkin, mushroom, lotus root, lady’s finger and eggplant are some of the popular vegetables that can make into Tempura. It’s not difficult to duplicate this dish at home and the batter is the important element of a good Tempura – light and deliciously crispy.
Ingredients (20± pieces)
1/2 pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled or unpeeled
130g multi-purpose flour
2.5 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise (eg: Kewpie)
200ml ICED COLD WATER
Salt to taste
Cooking oil for deep frying
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Step 1: In a bowl, add in the flour, iced cold water and mayonnaise, mix to combine.
Note: The key to crispy tempura is to ensure that the water is very cold. Keep the bowl of batter in fridge until just before it is used.
Step 2: Slice the pumpkin with thickness of 0.5cm.
Step 3: Heat up enough oil for frying in a wok/pot, dip the sliced pumpkin (Step 2) into the batter (Step 1) individually to coat the surface of the pumpkin and put it into the oil. Allow each slice to cook until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Deep fry in batches and don’t overcrowded the wok.
Step 4: Once cooked, remove from wok and drain oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve with tempura dipping sauce, if desired.
HAPPY COOKING! #stayhealthy #staysafe
Tempura is one of those crispy things I love to eat…especially tempura pumpkin! I can finish all your 20+ pcs. I see you used mayo instead of egg. Tempura may look simple to make but it’s not easy to nail successfully. I’ve tried…and failed! >.< Yes, I used iced cold water…yes, I didn't overmix the batter (and allowed some lumps), yes, I kept the batter cold. Getting the tempura batter right is the easy part but nobody tells you how to fry them perfectly. Mine did come out crispy (if eaten immediately) but lost the crispiness by the time I fried up the rest. In the end, it just didn't look like those served by restaurants that had this crispy, lumpy, whitish batter clinging onto the vegetables that's so yum…lol. Perhaps I should give it another go….hee..hee.
Kris, the crispiness of my Tempura Pumpkin couldn’t stay long too… 🙁 I wanna know the tips on how to let the crispiness remain longer too….
You better fry more next time because Kris and I will fight for it. LOL! I can also finish all your pumpkin tempura in one sitting hah..hah.. hah… They look so good. Generally speaking I don’t really like tempura but if it is pumpkin, I will make an exception. I have never tried making a batter using iced water. Is it easy to mix? I imagine since the water is so cold, it will be very lumpy. Who knows one day I might try this.
PH, ok ok, I’ll make sure to fry more next time! As for the iced water, it’s not difficult to mix into the flour, don’t worry.
Healthy & nice, need some beer to go with 😀
KY, then I’ll suggest to sprinkle some chili powder to make it more pungent!