Tempura batter recipe with flour. What is tempura and how to prepare this dish in your kitchen? Features of making tempura flour

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

Original Japanese cuisine is becoming increasingly popular around the world. If you think that the national food of the Japanese is only sushi and rice or seafood snacks, then you are deeply mistaken. Residents of the Land of the Rising Sun love vegetables, fruits, and poultry, which are prepared here in a special way and this method of cooking is called tempura. They use special flour for such snacks. To prepare real tempura, close to the authentic version, you need to know several important secrets of the original Japanese recipe.

What is tempura

This word is not of Japanese origin at all; it was introduced by Portuguese missionaries, denoting fasting with this term, because in translation “tempora” is “time” in the plural. During periods of different seasonal three-day fasts, Catholics were allowed to eat foods of plant origin and seafood, and one of the ways to prepare them was to fry slices of vegetables, fruits, and fish in a crispy batter.

The etymology of the name of the dish fully reveals its essence, because tempura is pieces of food fried in a light airy batter. Later, this simple but tasty dish passed on to the Japanese, where it became national. Moreover, initially, the tempura preparation technology corresponded to the basic principles of Japanese cuisine: products are cooked over high heat in deep fat so that they practically do not warm up, but remain almost raw inside a golden coat of batter.

If you are interested in the question: tempura - what is it, then know that it is not just an appetizer, but a whole category of dishes, including fish, meat, seafood, vegetables and even sweet fruits, which are fried in a special batter in vegetable oil. Depending on the base product used to prepare the snack, its name also changes. For example, the most popular in Japan “ebi tempura” is shrimp in batter, and “shake tempura” is salmon in batter.

What is tempura for and where to use it?

Based on the fact that tempura is an original way of preparing food, and not a separate dish, this technology is used to fry not only pieces of vegetables or seafood. For example, in Japanese restaurants they add a little rice vinegar to this batter and dip the rolls in it, which are then deep-fried. In addition, mushrooms and chicken are very tasty in tempura batter. Such dishes can be used as an appetizer, side dish, or an interesting, filling addition to fresh vegetable salads.

How to make tempura at home

This type of dish falls into the category of simple and affordable snacks, because, in fact, tempura can be made from any vegetables, seafood, meat or fruit with dense pulp. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the original recipe for mixing the batter, monitor the temperature of the oil in the pan so that it does not saturate the batter, and, following Japanese culinary traditions, use only high-quality and fresh ingredients for the filling.

Tempura flour

To make tempura close to the original, you need to take a very responsible approach to the choice of flour, because this is the main component thanks to which you can get a delicious Japanese snack. It is better if the recipe uses purchased tempura flour of good quality with a balanced composition and without foreign impurities. If your stores don’t have such a product, you can try making it yourself. To do this you will have to mix:

• wheat flour;
• rice flour;
• starch;
• corn flour;
• a little fine sea salt.

Tempura recipe

You can prepare this delicious Japanese snack with different fillings, but the recipe for all of them will be little different. Taking the classic version of the dish as a basis and diversifying it with spices, you can even create your own tempura recipe. There are two options for preparing this traditional Japanese dish:

1. The products are cut into small slices and each of them is fried separately.
2. The filling for the snack is crushed and then mixed with batter and fried in the form of a thin pancake, which is then divided into small slices.

Tempura batter

• Time: 2 minutes.
• Number of servings: 8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 165.2 kcal per 100 grams.
• Purpose: for preparing tempura.
• Cuisine: Japanese.
• Difficulty: easy.

In fact, the basis of this popular Japanese snack is a special tempura batter consisting of mixed flour, chicken eggs and water. The peculiarity of the recipe is that the components of the dough are simply mixed with a spatula until smooth - there is no need to thoroughly knead or beat the batter, because it will no longer be the original tempura, but a completely different dish. The consistency of the tempura dough should be moderately liquid, but not flow from the pieces of filling in a stream, but tightly cover the slices on all sides.

Ingredients:

• tempura flour – 150 g;
• chicken egg – 1 pc.;
• water – 240 ml;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Pour water into a deep plate, add salt and pepper, and beat in the egg. Mix.
2. Gradually adding flour, bring the batter to the desired thickness.

With fish

• Time: 12 minutes.
• Number of servings: 4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 373.5 kcal per 100 grams.
• Purpose: for a snack, for a festive table.
• Cuisine: Japanese.
• Difficulty: easy.

The Japanese often prepare this dish with different types of fish and seafood, and they consider the ideal tempura to be one in which the filling remains almost raw. To do this, you need to carefully monitor the temperature of the deep fat and heat it to such a state that the batter quickly browns, a crispy airy crust of an appetizing golden color forms, but underneath the fish pieces remain only slightly warm.

Ingredients:

• red fish or seafood (mussels, shrimp, squid) – 330 g;
• tempura flour – 165 g;
• water – 250 ml;
• chicken egg – 1 pc.;
• salt, spices - to taste;
• vegetable oil – 180 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse fish or seafood under running water and dry. Remove bones and entrails. Cut the fish fillet into small oblong pieces 1-1.5 cm thick.
2. Mix the batter from flour, eggs and water. Add salt and spices to taste.
3. In a deep fryer or high-sided frying pan, heat vegetable oil until boiling.
4. Dip the fish pieces one by one into the tempura batter and lower them into the boiling fat for a few minutes until golden brown.
5. After frying, place the tempura on a paper towel to remove excess fat from the finished dish.

With sweet fruits

• Time: 15 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 229.3 kcal per 100 grams.
• Purpose: for dessert.
• Cuisine: Japanese.
• Difficulty: easy.

If you want to pamper your loved ones with a delicious quick dessert, take note of the recipe for tempura with sweet fruits. Fruits with dense pulp are suitable - bananas, apples, pears, mangoes, pineapple. In order not to make the tempura dough heavier, it is better not to add sweeteners to it. If you suddenly find the finished dessert a bit sweet, you can sprinkle the battered fruit pieces with powdered sugar, honey or sweet berry sauce.

Ingredients:

• sweet apples – 2 pcs.;
• banana – 1 pc.;
• pear – 1 pc.;
• chicken egg category C2 – 1 pc.;
• tempura flour – 120 g;
• water – 190 ml;
• powdered sugar - to taste;
• vegetable oil – 145 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Using a knife, divide the apples and pears into halves, peel them, remove the seed pods, and cut into medium-thick slices.
2. Cut the banana pulp into thick slices.
3. Blot the fruit pieces with a paper napkin to remove any excess juice (the dough fits better on dry slices).
4. In a deep container, combine the egg and water, stir, add flour. There is no need to mix the dough vigorously - just make a few circular movements to separate the flour lumps.
5. Heat vegetable oil for deep frying in a deep frying pan, add a portion of fruit slices, previously coated with batter.
6. Fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes until browned.
7. Place the finished tempura fruits first on a paper towel and only then on a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

• Time: 30 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 1200 kcal.
• Purpose: for breakfast.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Light, tender, airy tempura with fresh vegetables will be an ideal addition to the Lenten table, because during Lent, food should also be tasty and beautiful. As a base product, you can use any vegetables - eggplant slices, cauliflower inflorescences, onion rings, carrot slices, pumpkin slices, asparagus stalks, etc. However, it is better to peel hard-skinned fruits first, and it won’t hurt to boil some of them a little.

Ingredients:

• cauliflower – 1 head;
• zucchini – 1 pc.;
• bell pepper – 1 pc.;
• water – 210 ml;
• tempura flour – 180 g;
• chicken egg – 1 pc.;
• salt, seasonings - to taste;
• vegetable oil – 170 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse all vegetables under the tap, separate the cauliflower into small florets, and boil in salted water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Cut the zucchini into circles, the bell pepper into thick strips.
3. Prepare a thin tempura dough from water, flour and eggs, add salt and season with your favorite seasonings to taste.
4. Heat a frying pan with oil, put in pieces of vegetables, previously dipped in batter.
5. Fry until golden brown over high heat, then remove excess fat with a napkin.

How to serve

In Japan, the homeland of this delicious dish, tempura is served in a special way. Pieces of food fried in a delicate airy batter are served with a special tempura sauce called tentsuyu. This original gravy is made with dashi broth, mirin and light soy sauce. They also put a little pickled ginger and pieces of white daikon radish on the plate with tempura. You can serve food fried in tempura dough as a separate dish, but it is often complemented with a side dish of rice or a light salad of fresh vegetables.

If you decide to cook such a simple, but at the same time very original dish of Japanese cuisine, remember some important secrets of tasty and correct tempura:

• The water for preparing the dough is taken very cold, even ice-cold - only then does the batter obtain the desired liquid consistency, because the flour does not have time to release the gluten.

• A greater airiness effect can be achieved if you replace ordinary water with mineral water - gas bubbles will create a delicate cloudy crust on the surface of the tempura.
• Some products used as fillings need to be slightly cooked beforehand so that they do not remain hard, tough or fibrous after a quick frying in batter. These are most vegetables, meat, seafood, which are best boiled a little or kept in a hot oven for a couple of minutes before frying.
• To obtain tempura close to the Japanese original, it is better to use special tempura flour. If you don’t have such a product, make it yourself by grinding rice and corn grits using a coffee grinder, and then mixing with regular wheat flour and starch. Do not forget to additionally sift the resulting mixture.
• To ensure that fried foods in batter remain low in fat and do not have unpleasant foreign odors, the oil for frying must be refined, deodorized, exceptionally clean, without sediment or foreign impurities.

Video

Found an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we will fix everything!

Discuss

Tempura - what is it, step-by-step recipes for cooking at home

Nobu Matsuhisa

InterContinental Hong Kong/Flickr.com

Ingredients:

• 100 g flour;
• 1 egg yolk;
• 200 ml cold water;
• 700 g of various seafood and / or vegetables;
• sesame, vegetable or rice oil.

This amount of ingredients makes six servings, but you may need more ingredients to prepare the batter. This depends on the size and shape of the seafood and vegetables, which must be completely covered in batter.

Preparation

Batter

The most important thing in tempura is the batter. To prepare it, use flour, egg yolk and cold water. According to the chef, these ingredients must be at the same temperature to ensure the batter has a uniform consistency.

Gently mix the ingredients. If you do this too vigorously, the tempura will be tough. Place the finished batter in the refrigerator.

Filling

Vegetables or need to be cut into small pieces that can fit in your mouth.

Nobu Matsuhisa likes to use eggplant as a filling because it retains its shape and remains crispy and fresh. You can also use mushrooms.

Among seafood, he prefers rock or tiger shrimp. Please note that the rock shrimp is quite large in size, and its shell is so hard that you have to use a special device to remove it. Peel, make cross cuts on the belly to prevent curling during cooking, and rinse them.

How to cook

In Japan, pure sesame oil is used to make tempura, but you can also use rice oil. Do not use olive or coconut oil as they do not have the right optimal heating temperature.

For vegetable tempura, heat the oil to 170°C and for seafood tempura to 180°C. Then dip the vegetable or seafood into the batter and place it in a frying pan with plenty of heated oil.

Cooking time will depend on the size of the tempura. If the piece sinks slightly into the oil and then floats to the surface again, the dish is ready. If the tempura sinks to the bottom of the pan, then the oil is not hot enough.

Serving the dish

Daniel Go/Flickr.com

Place the finished tempura on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Cool the dish slightly for a couple of minutes and serve immediately.

At Nobu restaurants, shrimp tempura is served with salt and lemon juice. Umami sauce, which is recognized as one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty, is perfect for vegetable tempura. Umami perfectly complements the taste of tempura.

Japanese cuisine has long become popular, and many housewives are gradually mastering its dishes. And yet, not everyone is known and in demand. Do you know what tempura is? Be sure to find out and try to cook this dish!

What it is?

Tempura is not a separate and specific Japanese dish, but a whole category of dishes from the traditional cuisine of the land of the rising sun. They are usually prepared from various seafood, fish and vegetables, which are dipped in batter and then deep-fried. By the way, the name “tempura” came to Japan from the Portuguese language. It is translated as “time” and long ago meant fasting.

During this period, not all foods could be eaten, but the list of permitted foods included seafood, vegetables and fish. And a popular cooking method was simply frying it in batter. Gradually, this concept migrated to Japan, where it became popular.

A variety of ingredients can be used to make tempura. The most common choice is fish or seafood, especially shrimp. But various vegetables (cauliflower, bell peppers, asparagus), sweet fruits, and less often meat can also be used. And recently they started making tempura rolls.

By the way, in Japan, chefs are especially valued who fry the batter only until it is lightly crispy, and the filling is only heated, but not fried (but in the case of raw meat or fish, this option will not work). Liquid batter is usually used, and it is prepared from flour, water and eggs.

How to cook?

Tempura dishes, as you have already understood, can be varied. Below are some interesting options.

Option one

This recipe involves using seafood as a filling.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup flour;
• 1 glass of cold water;
• 1 egg;
• 100 grams of squid;
• 100 grams of shrimp;
• 100 grams of mussels;

Preparation:

1. So, first prepare the filling. The shrimp should be peeled and the digestive tract (dark stripe) removed. Simply wash the mussels, and cut the squid into slices, cubes or strips.
2. Next, prepare the batter. To do this, break an egg into a bowl, add water, stir everything, and then add flour and mix everything well again.
3. If you have a deep fryer, add oil to it. If you don't have one, use a regular tall frying pan. You will need a lot of oil, since the ingredients will need to be completely immersed in it and float freely.
4. When the oil comes to a boil, dip the shrimp, mussel or piece of squid into the batter and place in the pan. Fry the tempura in batches until golden brown, adding oil if necessary.
5. Place the finished portions on paper napkins to drain the oil.

Option two

Vegetable tempura at home will be delicious. To prepare it, prepare:

• 1 zucchini;
• 1 small eggplant;
• 10 asparagus stalks;
• 100 grams of cauliflower;
• 1.5 glasses of cold water;
• 1 egg;
• 1.5 cups flour;
• vegetable oil.

Preparation:

1. First you need to prepare all the vegetables. Cut the zucchini into slices, and do the same with the eggplant. If the skin is thick, it can be removed. Cauliflower should be divided into inflorescences. Just wash the asparagus and cut it into small pieces. Next, you can place all the vegetables in boiling water or boil for a minute. Baking is also allowed.
2. Now you can prepare the batter. Mix cold water with the egg, continue stirring the mixture and add flour. The result should be a liquid dough.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and, dipping the vegetables in the batter, fry them until a light golden brown crust appears, and then place them on paper napkins to remove excess oil.

Option three

Try making fruit tempura. You will need:

• 1 apple;
• 1 pear;
• 1 banana;
• 100 grams of plums;
• 1.5 cups flour;
• 1.5 glasses of water;
• 1 egg;
• vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

1. Peel apples and pears and cut into slices. Remove the skin from the plums and divide them into halves. Peel the banana and cut into rings.
2. Mix eggs, water and flour and make a batter.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the fruits in it, first dipping them into the batter.
4. Remove excess oil with paper towels or napkins.
5. Ready!

How to submit?

Tempura can be served as a separate dish or appetizer, but some people complement it with a side dish (for example, rice) or vegetable salads (daikon is especially popular in Japan). Also, soy sauce and wasabi should definitely be on the table.

• The dough is prepared according to one recipe. For one part of water, take part of the water, as well as eggs (usually no more than two, they are used to give the mass stickiness and a beautiful shade). All this is mixed to form a mass that resembles the consistency of liquid sour cream. But there is one secret - cold water. Yes, it should be extremely cold or even icy, only then will you, firstly, get the desired consistency, and secondly, during the frying process will you achieve a light crispy crust.
• To make the batter seem airy, use mineral water instead of regular water, and carbonated water at that. Gases will form bubbles during deep frying, and the shell will be porous and airy.
• It is worth remembering that heat treatment will be minimal, because tempura is deep-fried in a matter of minutes. And therefore, if you use raw or very hard components, then it is advisable to additionally subject them to thermal effects. So, shrimp can be immersed in boiling water for a minute (if they are large), it is better to fry the meat, and hard vegetables (eggplant, asparagus) can be baked, lightly boiled or blanched.
• To make tempura dishes tasty and almost the same as those made by the best Japanese chefs, instead of regular wheat flour, use special tempura flour, which usually consists of rice flour, wheat flour, as well as starch (it can be replaced with corn flour) and sometimes spices (for example, garlic) .
• It is advisable to sift the flour, then the dough will be more airy.
• The oil used for frying must be refined and deodorized so that the finished dish does not have any foreign odors.

Bon appetit to you, your loved ones and guests!

Tempuna flour is used in Japanese and Asian cuisine to make tempura batter. Tempura batter is designed for deep-frying shrimp, vegetables and hot rolls. Adjust the thickness of the batter to your taste by changing the amount of ice water.

The easiest way is to buy special tempura flour and read the recommended recipe on the package... But not everywhere such flour is on sale, not even in every supermarket in big cities. Therefore, in the list of ingredients I give its approximate composition. Instead of any flour, you can also take a portion of starch.

The following spices can be added to the tempura flour batter: curry mixture, hot peppers, garlic powder.

Mix eggs with ice water. For the batter to have the consistency of pancake batter, you need about the same volume of water as flour.

Add flour and, if desired, baking powder.

Stir the mixture manually with a fork or whisk into a more or less homogeneous mass and the batter is ready.
Add salt and spices to it to taste or depending on the purpose.

The batter must be cold for use; sometimes ice cubes are even placed in it. What I mean is that it is recommended to keep it in the refrigerator. Tempura batter is ready.

Happy experimenting!

Japanese cuisine has long sank into the hearts and stomachs of many Russians, and a particularly favorite dish has become a dish with a simple name - rolls. They are so diverse that people’s eyes widen at the sight of such an abundance of varieties, and they just want to try everything. But today we will go through this type of Japanese delicacy, tempura rolls, or rather, we will learn with you how to prepare tempura rolls at home.

Having mastered our simple recipe for tempura rolls, you will be able to deliciously please your loved ones at a family meal or amaze your loved one at a romantic home by candlelight. There will be nothing complicated in cooking, you don’t need to be a chef from God, but just a neat, patient cook. You may ask why patience and accuracy?! They are necessary to obtain neat, small-sized, tightly rolled pieces from which nothing falls out.

Prepare rolls using a simple recipe

First we will focus on what tempura is?! Tempura is just a batter, but a batter made from not very simple ingredients. You will get acquainted with the list of necessary products for tempura batter a little later. The prepared batter is baked in very hot oil for just a couple of seconds, and how tasty the dish becomes after this simple and short procedure. But back to how to make tempura rolls, you will naturally begin your cooking by collecting the necessary ingredients.

List of products for cooking

You go to the nearest supermarket and buy the following list of ingredients:

• Packing rice for creating sushi and rolls, the regular variety of rice is no good due to its high level of starch.
• A bag of Nori seaweed.
• Lightly salted red fish fillet (salmon, salmon, tuna) - 350 g.
• 1 fresh cucumber.
• 100 grams of any cream cheese.
• 100 grams of sharp soft cheese.
• A bag of sesame seeds.
• Rice vinegar 60 ml.
• 3 tsp granulated sugar.
• 1 small spoon of salt.
• 1 chicken egg.
• Special flour for tempura, adjust the amount of flour by eye.
• Cold water, its quantity is adjusted during the preparation of tempura batter.
• 60 grams of fine breadcrumbs.
• Vegetable oil for frying.

You also need to stock up on convenient equipment; we will also prepare a list of them now. So, you need: a saucepan, bowls, a mat - this is exactly what will help you roll tempura rolls, cling film, a sharp long knife, a wooden spoon and a beautiful plate for serving the prepared Japanese dish.

Instructions for preparing the roll

A diagram of how to prepare hot tempura rolls at home will be described step by step, in the smallest details, so that any cook can handle the Japanese dish without difficulty, like a real sous chef.

1. Pour the rice into a bowl and wash it thoroughly under the tap, until the water in the bowl is perfectly clear, without the slightest hint of cloudiness. Pour the washed cereal into a saucepan and fill it with water so that it covers the grains of rice by one of your fingers.
2. Cover the saucepan with a lid and send it to cook on the stove. For five minutes, the rice should be cooked at maximum heat, after ten minutes at minimum heat.
3. The cooking is over, don’t rush to take out the boiled cereal, but let it steam under the lid for about 20 minutes. After the time has passed, pour the rice out of the pan onto a plate and wait for it to cool completely.
4. Add vinegar, salt and sugar to the rice, stir the paste until the dressing is completely dissolved.
5. Now preparing another filling, this process is just as simple, even a child can handle it on his own. We cut the cucumber and fish fillet into thin strips. Pour the cheeses into a bowl and mix with each other. The delicious filling is ready!
6. We lay out a mat on the table, put a sheet of cling film on top of it, the same size as the mat, and the third layer is a sheet of nori.
7. We begin laying out the rice; the rice sheet should not exceed the thickness of two grains of rice.
8. Stepping back 1.5-2 centimeters from the edge of the nori sheet, lay out a thin strip of cheese, lay a fish fillet on top of the cheese, and place a strip of cucumber on the side of the cheese.
9. Now we begin to spin the rolls, here it is important for you to “fill your hand” yourself. Place the finished block on a board, take a sharp knife, wet the tip in cold water, this is necessary so that during the cutting process the rolls are neat and do not stick to the knife.

Cooking tempura

You have prepared the rolls, but this is not the end of the preparation of our dish; we continue to prepare tempura rolls at home. Now you will find instructions on how to prepare the batter and bake cubes of food in it.

1. Pour the tempura flour into a bowl, add the egg and cold water, and start mixing everything. The batter is ready.
2. Now it’s time to heat up the oil; heat the oil in a deep saucepan or frying pan.
3. Pour breadcrumbs into a plate; they will give the rolls a delicious crunch. Dip the piece in the tempura mixture, then in the breadcrumbs and lower it into the hot oil. Baking happens in seconds, so don't overcook your dish!

Well, you have taken the step of a novice sous chef, we think that you will not stop your experiments with Japanese dishes, but will only develop and develop.