Yasai Tempura

Ingredients

• 10½ ozCauliflowercut into small florets
• 7 ozZucchinicut into slices or sticks
• 8¾ ozbroccolicut into florets or trimmed stems
• 7 ozcarrothalved or quartered lengthwise (optional)
• 10½ ozSweet potatosliced into rounds about 5 mm thick (optional)
• 1onionsliced into rings, for battering (optional)
• 1bell peppercut into strips (optional)
• 5¼ ozFlourfor the batter; ready-made tempura flour also used
• 1⅓ ozstarchlightens the batter (optional)
• 1 cupwatervery cold, sparkling water also used
• 1Egg yolkwhisked into the batter (optional)
• saltfor the batter and to season the fried pieces
• pepperto taste
• 4¼ cupsFrying oilneutral oil, heated to about 175 °C
• 5¼ ozmayonnaisebase for the dip (optional)
• 2 tbspLemon juicefor the dip, yuzu juice as alternative (optional)
• 1 tbspMustardstirred into the mayonnaise dip (optional)

Method

1. Prep the vegetablesWash and trim the vegetables: break the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets, cut the zucchini into slices or sticks, halve or quarter the carrots lengthwise, slice the sweet potato into rounds about 5 mm thick, cut the onion into rings and the bell pepper into strips. Pat everything thoroughly dry so the batter will cling.
2. Make the dipFor the dip, stir the mayonnaise together with the lemon juice and mustard, season with salt and pepper, and chill until serving.
3. Mix the batterMix the wheat flour with the cornstarch and salt. Only just before frying, add the ice-cold water and, if you like, the egg yolk, and stir briefly. Small lumps of flour are fine; the batter should stay thin and runny.
4. Heat the oilHeat the frying oil in a wide pot to about 345 °F. Without a thermometer, test with a drop of batter: it should rise quickly and bubble straight away.
5. Coat the vegetables in batterPull the vegetable pieces through the batter one by one and let them drip briefly, so only a thin film stays on.
6. Fry in batchesFry in batches for 2 to 5 minutes until golden and crisp, turning once. Don't crowd the pot, or the oil temperature drops and the batter soaks up fat.
7. Drain, season and serveDrain the finished pieces on paper towels or a rack, salt and pepper them at once, and serve hot with the cold dip.

Tips and variations

Instead of ice water, you can mix the batter with ice-cold sparkling water or lager. A whole egg in place of the egg yolk makes the batter lighter, and so does a pinch of baking powder in the flour. Ready-made tempura flour saves you the mixing altogether. If you like, toss the vegetables in dry flour and tap off the excess before dipping them in the batter. The cauliflower can be blanched briefly before it goes into the oil. Rolling the battered pieces in panko, Japanese breadcrumbs, gives them a coarser crust. Ginger, chilli and paprika work well stirred into the batter. Sage leaves can be fried right along with the vegetables. The dip is open to you: sour cream with ajvar, tomato sauce, or beetroot, chive or lemon mayonnaise all go well, and yuzu juice stands in beautifully for the lemon. Serve it hot from the pot, though tempura is also good once cooled.