Asparagus tempura with soy sauce and lemon is an easy and delicious treat. The veggie tempura is light and crispy and the soy sauce with green onions and a squeeze of lemon makes a tasty and tangy dipping sauce.
Asparagus Tempura With Soy Sauce and Lemon
If you’re in the mood for a crispy vegetable treat, asparagus tempura with soy sauce and lemon is perfect. Tempura is delicious and quick, producing a light crispy exterior that goes particularly well with fish and vegetables.
If you haven’t tried tempura at home before, it’s simple and quick. In this recipe, you can make an easy soy sauce based dipping sauce while the asparagus tempura is frying. The whole meal can be completed in under 20 minutes.
Veggie Tempura
Veggie tempura is a fun choice for making tempura at home. If you haven’t made tempura before, it is probably much easier than you think. There are many vegetables you can use for tempura; the more popular choices for vegetable tempura include sweet potato, mushroom, green beans, bell pepper, broccoli florets, etc. Here I am using asparagus, which works very well.
The important thing to consider is that you will cook the vegetable tempura for about two to three minutes per side in hot oil to get the tempura batter coating crispy and golden brown. If you are starting with a raw vegetable, you must cut it to the right size so that it will cook through in this amount of time. Asparagus is a great vegetable in this regard since it will easily cook through in the amount of time it takes the tempura coating to get crispy and golden brown.
Tempura Batter
Tempura batter is what makes the tempura. It is simple to make. The most distinguishing factor of tempura is that it is light and airy, in addition to crispy. To achieve the airiness, we use two factors. First, baking powder is mixed in with the flour in the batter. This creates some leavening in the batter as it it fries. Second, using club soda adds additional aeration and lightness to the batter.
Another principle to get a crispier result is to inhibit gluten development, which would result in a chewier and more elastic coating. To avoid developing too much gluten, make sure not to overmix the batter, as mixing develops gluten. Only mix enough to homogenize the batter. Second, use cold club water. The cold water inhibits gluten development and results in a crispier exterior.
Making the Vegetable Tempura
After you make the cold batter and trim the asparagus, heat the oil in a large saute or frying pan. You are ready to fry the asparagus tempura.
When oil is hot, dip your asparagus one by one into the cold batter. Make sure each asparagus spear is thoroughly coated, but allow excess batter to drip off. Gently place the tempura battered asparagus in the pan to fry. Flip the asparagus when golden brown on the bottom, about two to three minutes. Cook the other side to golden brown and then remove to a wire rack or paper towel to drain excess oil.
Soy Sauce Dipping Sauce for Asparagus Tempura
This is a fast soy sauce dipping sauce. Simply mix the soy sauce with freshly squeezed lemon juice for some tang. Toss in the chopped green onions. You can add a small amount of grated garlic (maybe half a clove) to the sauce for additional flavor if desired.
Serving Asparagus Tempura with Soy Sauce and Lemon
Serve the asparagus tempura immediately with the soy dipping sauce. Sprinkle freshly chopped green onion on your veggie tempura and serve with a few additional slices of lemon. Enjoy!
Asparagus Tempura With Soy Sauce and Lemon
Equipment
- stove top
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb asparagus, trimmed and peeled
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup soda water, cold
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 0.5 cup green onion, sliced
- 1 each lemon
- 1 clove garlic, grated or chopped to a paste
- 0.5 cup canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- Wash, trim, and peel asparagus
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cold soda water. This is the tempura batter.
- Heat up the canola oil in a large frying pan. Dip asparagus in tempura and make sure it is fully coated. Gently place into hot oil.
- Cook until golden brown and remove to wire rack or paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Whisk together soy sauce, garlic, green onion, and a squeeze of lemon for dipping sauce. Serve veggie tempura immediately with dipping sauce. Sprinkle with additional sliced green onion and some lemon slices.
Veggie Tempura Recipes
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Nice! Made these and they were delicious!
Such a delicious treat for me! I loved the lemon dipping sauce!
This was such a great way to use asparagus! I was looking for something new that wasn’t too hard so this was perfect
Thanks!
Came out excellent and after this asparagus tempura recipe, my family have become fan of asparagus and I am happy that I can include this vegetable into our diet. 🙂
So happy you and your family liked it!
These are so delicious! I could eat the whole pan myself. Thanks!
I love this and can’t wait to try your recipe! I love asparagus and tend to prepare it the same way – this will bring new (tasty!) life to one of my favorite veggies!