Tempura vegetables with a soy, chilli, and coriander dipping sauce

By: Katy Beskow
From: 15 minute vegan
Serves: 4
Photographer: Dan Jones

People often consider tempura a difficult dish to create, however, it is in fact incredibly easy, with just a few simple ingredients required. The trick to creating the perfect light yet crispy batter is using sparkling, carbonated water that is ice cold. Use vegetables that need minimal preparation, such as button mushrooms and broccoli, to save time.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
200ml	sunflower oil, for frying

For the vegetables

Quantity	Ingredient
8 spears	tenderstem broccoli
8	baby carrots
8	radishes
12	button mushrooms

For the batter

Quantity	Ingredient
150g	plain flour
100g	cornflour
1 teaspoon	baking powder
200ml	ice-cold sparkling water

For the soy, chilli, and coriander dipping sauce

Quantity	Ingredient
200g	passata
2 tablespoons	soy sauce
1 tablespoon	maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon	dried chilli flakes
handful	fresh coriander, finely chopped
1	lime

Method

Heat the oil in a deep pan over a high heat while you prepare the vegetables.
Trim the end of the broccoli and slice away the top end of the baby carrots. Remove the very top and bottom of the radishes. Brush the mushrooms to ensure they are dirt free.
Now make the batter. In a wide bowl, mix together the flour, cornflour, and baking powder before whisking in the ice-cold sparkling water. Whisk gently until just smooth. Dip in the vegetables and ensure they are evenly coated in batter, shaking off any excess.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully add half the vegetables to the hot oil and cook for 2–3 minutes. Try not to overfill the pan with the vegetables, as they will stick together. When the batter has puffed up, carefully remove the tempura from the pan and drain on kitchen paper, then add the rest of the vegetables to the pan, again cooking for 2–3 minutes.
In the meantime, make the dipping sauce. Pour the passata, soy sauce, maple syrup, chilli flakes, and coriander into a bowl. Cut the lime in half and squeeze in the juice through a sieve to stop any pips going into the bowl. Whisk until combined.
Serve the tempura immediately with individual bowls of dipping sauce.