Tempura

Tempura

I recently discovered how easy it is to make tempura when researching how to fry pumpkin blossoms (link to that post

I am new to frying, so rest assured; if I can do it, you can too. I will explain the tempura batter and then given tips on frying the various foods mentioned above.

Ingredients (tempura batter):

• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cold water (I use refrigerated water)

That's it. Amazingly simple. I have also made a quick version that is 1:1 flour and cold water (great for frying only a couple items)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oil in wok or pan to 340ºF to 360ºF. Doing this first helps keep the batter cold which is critical.
2. Prepare foods to be fried. Clean and shell shrimp. Cut vegetables into strips (do not precook)
3. Mix tempura ingredients together (do not overmix! Multiple sources said that the batter should be lumpy). I use chop sticks for this step.
4. Dip item in batter, coating both sides, and allow excess batter to trip off.
5. Put item into hot oil (be careful not to splash hot oil)
6. Cook item until golden brown. ~2-4 minutes for vegetables (until soft). ~3+ minutes for shrimp (until fully pink). ~5 minutes per side for mahi Mahi (until fully cooked)
7. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate
8. Enjoy (best enjoyed hot or warm)

That's it. Like I said, it is super easy and delicious.

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

The idea of fried pumpkin blossoms may seem strange to the uninitiated, but these tasty little frites are simple to make. Mine were from a mini pumpkin plant, but any pumpkin, squash, or zucchini flower should be suitable. My plant's flowers only last a day, so each morning I wake up to new pumpkin flowers to fry.

Don't worry if you are new to frying, these edible delights were my first foray into frying. I used a modified tempura batter to be light and crisp like the flowers rather than drowning them in batter.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin flowers
• Frying batter (1:1 cold water and flour. You can add more cold water. Batter should be more of a liquid than a paste. Thankfully, it does not have to be an exact ratio)
• Oil (for frying)

Procedure:

1. Wash the flowers and cut out the center of the flower (stamen) which is covered in pollen (see Figure 1).
2. Heat oil to about 350ºF/177ºC.
3. Mix batter ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Dip flowers into batter and place them in the hot oil. Allow to cook until browned on the edges.
5. Remove, cool, salt to taste, and enjoy (see Figure 2).

Figure 1.

Figure 2.