Vegetable Tempura Batter Recipe

Vegetable tempura

1. Prep vegetables by washing and drying them before dunking them in the batter.
2. For kabocha, slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice the kabocha into ⅛ inch pieces.
3. For root vegetables, cut into ⅛ even slices to make sure they cook properly.
4. For eggplants, keep the top intact and make slices starting from the middle to the bottom of the vegetable. The eggplant should look like a fan.
5. For zucchini, cut the tops off and cut into lengthwise strips with a ¼ inch width.
6. In a heavy bottomed pot, add about 2 inches of oil from the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil to 350 °F degrees.
7. In a mixing bowl, add the flour and ½ cup of potato starch and mix thoroughly.
8. In another bowl, add the egg and mix in the cold vodka. Then add the carbonated water.
9. Carefully, add the wet batter into the mixing bowl and use the chopsticks to mix the batter in swift movements. Try to lift the bowl and move the bowl in round movements while stirring with the chopsticks. Make sure to not over-mix the batter or your tempura will end up chewy. You should have some lumps in your batter. The mixing process should take no longer than one minute.
10. Carefully lower the battered vegetables into the oil. The vegetables cook fairly quickly so make sure to watch these carefully. Root vegetables take about three minutes and other vegetables take about one to two minutes depending on their thickness.
11. Turn the vegetables every so often so they cook properly.
12. Remove the cooked vegetables (it should have a pale blonde color) from the oil and place over paper towels on a cooling rack.
13. Serve immediately with the tetsuya dipping sauce.

Tentsuyu dipping sauce

1. In a small sauce pot, add the water over a medium-low heat.
2. Add the dashi mix, soy sauce, and mirin.
3. Heat until it boils for one minute and then remove from heat.
4. Serve in a small sauce dish.