Tempura - Vegetables AKA Aunty Wahiawa's Agemono
Aunty Wahiawa was known for her deep-frying skills, she never measured. She says it was done by feel. I remember watching how she was always happy and could tell a good story in the kitchen. I tried to come up with a starting point of measurements, but now understand what she means by feel. The trick is keeping the batter thin and maintaining the cooking oil at 350 F.
I added the dipping sauce although it really doesn't need it but like to have it as an option as it does add a nice flavor to the vegetables. Aunty would think the sauce is too fussy.
Ingredients
- 1 C flour
- ¾ C corn starch
- 1 t baking powder
- 1 t salt
- 2 T monk fruit
- 1 t vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1C water
- Oil for cooking
- Vegetables cut to consistent sizes for even cooking. I like carrots, green beans and onions. Sweet potatoes and mushrooms are also good with this batter. Mochiko can be switched out for flour those with gluten allergies.
Directions
- Prep and cut all vegetables, as much as you want to eat.
- Combine dry ingredients in bowl
- Emulsify monk fruit, oil and egg and add to bowl
- Add 1 C water to the consistency of pancake batter
- Heat cooking oil to 350 F and suggest reviewing this set up if not comfortable deep frying Deep Frying Tools / Helpful Hacks | Cooking with Aloha, Texas Style (cooking-with-aloha-texas-style.com)
- Dip the vegetables in the tempura batter and let it drip off before placing in hot oil.
- Flip when the color is golden, a few minutes at the most and place on wire rack or paper towels.
- Clean the oil of any batter dripping between batches, don't crowd the pan. Tempura is bet enjoyed as it comes out of the oil.
9. If there are leftovers, heat in air fryer to bring the crispiness back.
Tempura dipping sauce
Combine ingredients and serve in individual dipping bowls.
- 1 C water
- ½ t dashi no moto
- ¼ C mirin
- ¼ C shoyu
- 1 T monk fruit
- ¼ C grated daikon
- 1 T minced green onion