Tempura Prawns & Vegetable Bites

These little bites are devine with drinks or as a starter. They are not kind to the waist line though, so must be reserved as a treat only. The secret to good tempura lies in the batter. The batter should not be over whisked, and freezing cold sparkling water should be used. The result is a batter that instantly puffs up and it’s actually a really light, fluffy batter. Make the batter really last minute, it looses air if left to stand for any length of time.

I used this tempura to make a combination of tempura vegetables and tempura prawn. I served these with a wasabi mayonnaise for a little kick. Though easy on the wasabi, a little goes a long way!

Serves 6 for a starter

Ingredients

The Batter

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of freezing cold sparkling water

The Tempura ingredients

• 18 raw prawns, deveined and shelled
• ½ aubergine, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 2 red onions, quartered

The Wasabi Mayonnaise

• ½ tsp of wasabi paste
• Juice of a lime
• 3 tbsp of good quality mayonnaise

Method

1. First, get your deep fryer hot, to 180 degrees
2. Then get you veggies and prawns prepared.
3. When just ready to cook, make the batter. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl, add the flour and then the water. Combine, but don’t over whisk it.
4. Dunk each piece of vegetable in the batter, shake off excess and then lower into the hot oil, with the basket already down.
5. They are ready when they float to the surface and are golden. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm until all the frying is complete.
6. To make the mayonnaise, combine all the ingredients, taste to see if extra mayo or wasabi needed.