When you're craving a hot, crispy snack to dip into something spicy, nothing hits the spot like zucchini tempura.
Tempura is a Japanese dish in which meat, fish, or veggies are battered and deep fried. Crucially, the batter should be super light and super crisp, giving satisfying crunch in every bite.
The secrets to a super light tempura are manifold and while I can't claim my approach is entirely traditional, I've brought my favourites together to achieve what I think is the perfect tempura batter.
- the water must be fizzy - the carbonation helps make the batter airy.
- the fizzy water must be ice cold - this helps thicken the batter and help it cling to the zucchini.
- the batter should be thin - you want a final product so crisp it's translucent and that means the batter cannot be too dense.
- an egg yolk should be included - this not only adds a touch of flavour, it also helps crisp up the batter
- the veggie shouldn't be too large or too small - cut your veggies into strips of a similar size to a chunk chip (that's fries for my US readers) and they should cook perfectly.
- the oil should be hot - cooler oil can lead to floppy tempura with a soft batter. 180C/355F should do the trick
Read on for my zucchini tempura recipe and get ready for a seriously tasty snack.
Ingredients
- 2 zucchinis (courgettes) cut into 5cm (2 inch) long fries
- 100 g (3.5 oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) cornflour
- pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk chilled
- 200 ml (6.8 floz) fizzy water chilled
- vegetable oil to fry
Equipment
- Deep fat fryer or suitable high-sided saucepan or suitable saucepan
- Slotted spoon or tongs
Instructions
Your fizzy water needs to be icy cold, so either chill it in a container in the refrigerator overnight, or pop a container in freezer while you get organised.
Fill your deep fat fryer (or a suitably large and high-sided saucepan) to one third full with oil. It's important not to overfill your fryer as oil expands when heated and can bubble up further when food is added.
Heat to 180C (355F). Keep your oil supervised at all times.
Get your zucchini / courgettes sliced into fries so that they're on hand to use as soon as your batter is ready.
Put the flour, cornflour and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
Mix together.
Add the egg yolk and chilled fizzy water.
Whisk until you have a smooth batter. Whisking in one direction only can help avoid lumps.
Drop a few pieces of courgette into the batter and then straight into the oil. Don’t drop all the veggies into the batter at once as they can change the temperature and thickness of the batter if they sit in it too long. You also need to work in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the frying pan.
Work in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan.
Fry for 3-4 minutes until very crispy and puffed, turning gently as needed. They shouldn't take on much colour.
Lift from the pan using a slotted spoon or straining spoon. Place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to allow the oil to drain.
If you like, you can place the drained tempura on a baking sheet in a low over to stay hot and crisp while you fry the rest of the batch.
Enjoy!
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Zucchini Tempura Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 zucchinis (courgettes) cut into 5cm (2 inch) long fries
- 100 g (3.5 oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) cornflour
- pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk chilled
- 200 ml (6.8 floz) fizzy water chilled
- vegetable oil to fry
Equipment
- Deep fat fryer or suitable high-sided saucepan or suitable saucepan
- Slotted spoon or tongs
Instructions
- Your fizzy water needs to be icy cold, so either chill it in a container in the refrigerator overnight, or pop a container in freezer while you get organised.
- Fill your deep fat fryer (or a suitably large and high-sided saucepan) to one third full with oil. It's important not to overfill your fryer as oil expands when heated and can bubble up further when food is added. Heat to 180C (355F). Keep your oil supervised at all times.
- Get your zucchini / courgettes sliced into fries so that they're on hand to use as soon as your batter is ready.
- Put the flour, cornflour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix together.
- Add the egg yolk and chilled fizzy water and whisk until you have a smooth batter. Whisking in one direction only can help avoid lumps.
- Drop a few pieces of courgette into the batter and then straight into the oil. Don’t drop all the veggies into the batter at once as they can change the temperature and thickness of the batter if they sit in it too long. You also need to work in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the frying pan.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes until very crispy and puffed, turning gently as needed. They shouldn't take on much colour.
- Lift from the pan using a slotted spoon or straining spoon. Place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to allow the oil to drain.
- If you like, you can place the drained tempura on a baking sheet in a low over to stay hot and crisp while you fry the rest of the batch.
Video
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe then you'll likely also enjoy my German bread dumplings (Semmelknödel).
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