My husband brought home two more large zucchini a few days ago, courtesy of his co-worker with a vegetable and herb garden. Not wanting to make zucchini bread or another pasta dish, I decided to prepare zucchini tempura instead. Normally, I would use tempura batter mix from a package and a variety of vegetables (such as zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes, green peppers, mushrooms and onions).

 

However, since we aren’t grocery shopping until Saturday and I only had zucchini on hand, my choices narrowed considerably. I used a recipe from Fisherman Express for the tempura batter, making my own changes to suit the needs of the dish. The batter came out a bit thin making it less adhesive, so I included the addition of flour to the recipe. The sauce is my own recipe, one I’ve made for years, but I’m sure there are many more like it floating around the culinary web.

Tempura Batter

¼ C cornstarch

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ C water

1 Egg

Canola Oil

Flour (if needed)

Salt (optional)

 

Mix cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda in bowl. Stir in water and egg and mix until smooth. If the batter appears too thin, add a bit of flour until it thickens slightly (enough to adhere to vegetables). Heat oil in a frying pan (enough to allow vegetables to be submerged), and dip vegetables in batter. Deep fry vegetables until browned, with a crispy texture. Drain vegetables on paper towels and sprinkle with salt if desired, and serve with warmed Tempura Dipping Sauce (below).

 

Tempura Dipping Sauce

½ C teriyaki sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

Water to dilute

 

In a small pot, combine the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and sugar on medium-low heat, stirring frequently. To dilute, taste the sauce and add water in small amounts until desired salt-level is achieved. Serve with tempura-cooked vegetables.

Zucchini Tempura was lunch and dinner in my house today – I’m not complaining because I adore tempura (whether it’s on vegetables or seafood). However, next time I plan to have a larger selection of vegetables. Sweet potato and carrot tempura remain my favorites.