These tempura vegetables are coated in a light, three ingredient batter, shallow fried to crispy perfection, and served with a savory-sweet soy sesame dipping sauce.
Last year around this time I got it in my head that I needed an easy tempura vegetable recipe on the blog. At that time I thought “easy” meant not fried. That was my entire definition of the word. Nine or ten attempts involving slathering various crusty coatings on veggies resulted in me coming to the conclusion that “easy” or not, some degree of frying would be required to create anything remotely tempura-esque.
So here I am, another holiday season, another tempura, only this time I took another approach. I didn’t deep fry. I didn’t bake. I found that happy place known as shallow frying, and it worked!
There’s another easy element to this recipe? In lieu of baking on a fake-fried crust, I went with a super simple three ingredient batter. Flour, salt, seltzer water. That’s it! Mix, dip, and fry these babies up, but not in enough oil to make things scary.
I used a single 12 ounce can of Vintage® Seltzer for the batter. When the opportunity to work with Vintage® first came up I jumped, because I do, in fact, drink this stuff all day long. I’m hooked on fizz and really like the fact that Vintage® Seltzer is a calorie-free way to get my fix. So initially I thought I’d share some type of fun holiday spritzer recipe with y’all. But then I thought better. Drinking this stuff is easy. You know how to do that! Some adventures in seltzer cooking were in order.
It worked out great! The bubbles give the batter just the right amount of air to create a delicately crispy tempura crust, even with my cheater’s shallow frying method. I usually buy my seltzer in one liter bottles, but this time went with a twelve pack of cans, because a single 12 ounce can is exactly the amount needed for one big holiday-sized batch of crispy tempura veggies (and I know I’ll drink the rest of the cans in the pack). If you want to use a bottle, free free to do that as well. You’ll just need to measure out 1 1/2 cups. You can find both cans and bottles in the soda aisle of the supermarket. You can find stores that carry vintage using this store locator. And to help you get rolling, here’s a digital coupon to save you a buck on a twelve pack.
“Follow Vintage Seltzer on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram! Users who tag @DrinkVintage on Instagram will receive a $1 off coupon!”
Easy Tempura Vegetables
Ingredients
For the Soy Sesame Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. agave or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 scallion, chopped
For the Easy Tempura Vegetables
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-12 oz. can Vintage® Original Seltzer, chilled
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- about 1/2 cup canola oil, or another high smoke point oil
- 1 medium sweet potato, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slabs
- 1/2 medium cauliflower crown, broken into small florets
- 1/2 medium broccoli crown, broken into small florets
- 1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
Instructions
Make the Soy Sesame Dipping Sauce
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Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Make the Easy Tempura Vegetables
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Whisk flour, Vintage® Seltzer and salt together in a medium bowl.
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Pour about 1/4 inch of oil into a medium nonstick or cast-iron skillet and place over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, begin frying veggies in batches. Dip veggies into batter, one at a time, to lightly coat, shaking off any excess batter. Place veggies in skillet, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook until crispy and very lightly browned on bottoms, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes on opposite sides. Remove veggies from skillet and transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Continue frying veggies in this manner until all are cooked, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.
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Serve with soy sesame dipping sauce.
Recipe Notes
Whole wheat pastry flour works as a substitution for all-purpose, but the batter and resulting crust will be a bit thinner and more delicate.
Keep your veggies thin! This is what make the shallow frying method work. You want your oil to come at least halfway up the thickness of each veggie during frying, to make sure all of the batter gets crispy. For broccoli and cauliflower, I suggest cutting very small florets, and halving them in necessary.
Feel free to substitute your favorite tempura veggies here. Green beans, asparagus and zucchini are all great choices.
If you opt to use Vintage® Seltzer from a bottle, just measure out 1 1/2 cups.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Hi there. I LOVE your recipes. Could the battered veggies in this one be be baked in the oven as alternative to frying?
Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! I can’t say for sure, but you might be able to bake this up. I’ve baked similar mixtures, and it usually works if you make sure not to load up the pieces with too much batter and then bake at a high temperature…I’d say around 450. I’d also try spritzing them with some oil towards the end, so you get some crispness. Please let me know how it works out if you try it!
what! you can make tempura batter with seltzer water?? has this always been a thing?? i’m def going to try it!!
Yup! It’s pretty cool how the carbonation gives it just the right texture and crispness. I hope you love it as much as I did. :)
Is the nutritional info for the whole recipe or per serving? I see there are 6 servings…thank you!
Always per serving, unless otherwise noted. :)
Do you an alternative to Selata water ?
Beer would probably work! It needs to be something with bubbles. :)
Thanks for this Would Almond or coconut flour work?💕
I haven’t tried either, but my instinct tells me no. Neither is as sticky as wheat flour, so I could see the batter falling off of the veggies. You might have better luck with a gluten-free blend, but that’s just a guess.
We tried this tonight as part of our Japanese themed Christmas Eve dinner…fabulous. So easy. I did green beans, asparagus & sweet potato. Thanks
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed them!
You can use ginger ale which gives a lovely taste. 1/2 c ap flour 3/4 c corn starch , 8 oz ginger ale, salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder to taste. Keep ginger ale ice cold & add last dry veg prior to dipping into batter then into frying oil.