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Tempura

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main courses•japanese•contains seafood, contains eggs, contains gluten, dairy-free
50 minutes•4 servings•

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water – for dashi
  • 1 piece kombu – about 4-inch piece
  • 1/2 ounces katsuobushi – flakes
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 12 each large shrimp – peeled and deveined, tails left on
  • 8 ounces sweet potato – peeled, sliced 0.25-inch thick (~1.5 medium sweet potatos)
  • 8 ounces kabocha squash – sliced 0.25-inch thick, seeds removed (~0.5 medium kabocha squashes)
  • 1 each Japanese eggplant – sliced 0.25-inch thick
  • 8 each shiitake mushrooms – stems trimmed
  • 8 each shiso leaves – patted dry
  • 4 ounces green bean – trimmed
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour – divided; reserve 0.5 cup for dredging
  • 1 cup ice-cold water – for batter
  • 1 each large egg – lightly beaten
  • 6 cups neutral oil
  • 1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
  • daikon radish – grated (for serving)
  • ginger – grated (for serving)
  • fine sea salt – for serving
Tempura

Instructions

  1. 1.

    Combine kombu with water in a small saucepan and heat over medium until tiny bubbles form around the edges; just before boiling, remove it. Add katsuobushi, simmer 1 minute, turn off the heat, steep 5 minutes, then strain to make a clear dashi.

  2. 2.

    In another small saucepan, bring 1 cup of the hot dashi to a gentle simmer with mirin and soy sauce for 2 minutes; keep warm off heat for dipping sauce.

  3. 3.

    Peel and devein large shrimp, leaving tails on; pat dry, make 3–4 shallow slits on the belly side to straighten, and blot the tail to remove moisture.

  4. 4.

    Prepare the sweet potato, kabocha squash, Japanese eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, shiso leaves, and green beans as listed; keep everything very dry.

  5. 5.

    Pour neutral oil and toasted sesame oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat to 340°F for vegetables and 350–360°F for shrimp; monitor with a thermometer.

  6. 6.

    Measure 1.5 cups cake flour; place about 0.5 cup in a shallow dish for dredging and set the remaining flour aside for the batter.

  7. 7.

    In a medium bowl, whisk ice-cold water with large egg just to combine. Sprinkle in the reserved flour and stir 10–12 times with chopsticks until barely mixed; leave small lumps and do not overmix.

  8. 8.

    Lightly dust the vegetables in the dredging flour, shake off excess, dip a few pieces into the batter, and fry at 340°F until crisp and pale golden, 1–2 minutes for tender leaves and beans and 2–3 minutes for roots and thicker slices; drain on a rack and skim stray crumbs from the oil between batches.

  9. 9.

    Dust the shrimp lightly in the dredging flour, dip in the batter, and fry at 350–360°F until just opaque with crisp ridges, 1.5–2 minutes; drain on the rack.

  10. 10.

    Serve immediately with the warm dipping sauce, grated daikon radish and fresh ginger, or fine sea salt.

Tempura is a Japanese technique of frying seafood and vegetables in an ultra-light, crisp batter that shatters at the first bite. The flavor is clean and delicate, letting the natural sweetness of shrimp and the seasonality of vegetables shine, while the texture stays airy rather than heavy. It is typically paired with a gently sweet-salty dipping sauce and condiments like grated daikon and ginger to balance richness and refresh the palate.

Tempura’s roots trace to frying methods introduced by Iberian missionaries in the 16th century, later refined in Edo (Tokyo) into the recognizable style known today. Edo-style shops developed signature touches such as using sesame oil for aroma and favoring prawns and seasonal produce. Over time, tempura became both a street-side specialty and a refined course in multi-course meals, and it now appears everywhere from tendon (tempura rice bowls) to soba and udon toppings across Japan.