Vegan Tempura Recipe
Crispy Japanese-style tempura made fully vegan with a light egg-free batter and a savory dipping sauce. Perfect for showcasing seasonal vegetables.
Servings: 4
Calories: 288kcal
Equipment
- Deep saucepan or heavy-bottomed pot
- Cooking thermometer (recommended)
- Mixing bowl
- Tongs or cooking chopsticks
- Slotted spoon or spider strainer
- Wire rack (or plate lined with paper towels)
- knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu):
- 250 ml vegan dashi
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- ½ tablespoon sugar
Dipping sauce toppings
- 2 cm Piece of ginger (1 inch) peeled and grated
- 1 Green onion sliced into thin discs
- 4 cm piece of daikon or white radish
Vegetables:
- ½ medium sweet potato
- ⅓ medium eggplant
- ½ sheet nori
- 4 stems of tenderstem broccoli
- 1 shiitake mushroom
Batter:
- 100 g plain flour
- 30 g cornstarch
- 250 ml ice-cold sparkling water
- 4 ice cubes
- 30 g plain flour for dusting
For Frying:
- 300 ml neutral oil enough for a ~4cm depth in your frying pan
Instructions
- Make the dipping sauce (tentsuyu): In a small saucepan, combine vegan dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves, then set aside to cool.
- Prepare the vegetables: Peel and slice the sweet potato into thin disks (about ½ cm thick).
- Cut the aubergine into 1 cm rounds.
- Slice the mushrooms about 1 cm thick.
- Cut the nori sheet into 8 small squares (roughly 2 x 2 inches).
- Trim the broccoli stems to fit your frying pan.
- Peel and grate the daikon and/or ginger, and thinly slice the spring onion (optional, for garnish).
- Prepare the batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk together plain flour and cornstarch until combined. Place some extra plain flour in a separate bowl for dusting. Add sparkling water to the flour mix and stir gently with chopsticks—do not overmix; lumps are fine. Add a few ice cubes to keep the batter very cold.
- Heat the oil and fry the vegetables: Pour neutral oil into a deep pan to about 4 cm depth. Heat to 180°C (350°F). Lightly dust each vegetable (except the nori) in flour, dip into the batter, and carefully place into the hot oil. Fry in small batches until crisp and light golden.
- Drain and serve: Transfer cooked tempura to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain then arrange on a platter.
- Serve with small dishes of dipping sauce and let everyone customise with a pinch of grated ginger, grated daikon, and spring onions. Dip, crunch, and enjoy while it’s hot, light, and irresistibly crisp.
Notes
- Keep the batter cold: Cold batter hitting hot oil is the secret to light, crispy tempura. Add ice cubes as needed.
- Fry in small batches: Overcrowding lowers the oil temperature and makes tempura soggy.
- Neutral oil is best: Use vegetable, sunflower, or canola oil. Avoid olive oil as it is too strong in flavor.
- Vegan dashi options: Use kombu and shiitake mushroom dashi as a base (see our vegan dashi recipe).
- Make it gluten free: Swap the plain flour for rice flour or a gluten free flour blend.
- Best eaten fresh: Tempura does not keep its crispiness for long, so it is best enjoyed immediately after frying.
What to serve with tempura
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serve | Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1069mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4087IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
