🍟 Side Dishes

Vegan Mixed Vegetable Tempura (Kakiage Style)

Traditional Japanese kakiage — a colourful mix of julienned seasonal vegetables coated in an impossibly light, crisp batter and fried until golden and delicate. Shredded carrots, burdock root, lotus root, green beans, and shiso leaves bind together into lacy, golden fritters. Served with a warm, savoury soy‑ginger dipping sauce. Completely egg‑free, dairy‑free, and vegan — yet every bit as light and crisp as the traditional version!

Shared by novi

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Time

30 min

Serves

Difficulty

medium

🛒 Ingredients

#Vegetables
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
100 g lotus root, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 small burdock root (gobo), scrubbed and cut into thin matchsticks
6–8 green beans, cut into thin strips diagonally
4–5 fresh shiso leaves, roughly torn
¼ onion, thinly sliced into wedges
Tip: Keep all vegetables roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
#Crispy Vegan Batter
100 g all‑purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch
150 ml ICE‑COLD water (very cold = crisp batter!)
¼ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp soy sauce
#Tempura Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu — Vegan)
150 ml kombu + shiitake dashi broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (vegan)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water (optional, to thicken)
#For Frying
Neutral oil (canola, sunflower, or rice bran oil) — enough for deep frying

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1
Prep vegetables: Cut all vegetables into thin, uniform matchsticks. Pat them completely dry with a clean cloth or paper towel — moisture = soggy tempura! Toss together in a bowl.
2
Make the sauce: Combine dashi broth, soy sauce, and mirin in a small pot. Simmer gently 3 minutes. Stir in ginger. If you prefer slightly thickened sauce, stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook 1 minute more. Keep warm.
3
Make the batter: Whisk flour, starch, baking powder, and salt together. Pour in ice‑cold water and soy sauce. Stir gently just until combined — lumps are GOOD! Do NOT over‑mix — lumpy batter = crisp tempura. Keep the batter cold.
4
Combine & shape: Heat oil to 170 °C (340 °F). Toss vegetables lightly in the batter — don’t drown them. Scoop a portion of vegetable‑batter mixture and gently lower into the hot oil in a loose, lacy pile.
5
Fry until golden: Fry 3–4 minutes, turning once, until puffed up, golden, and beautifully crisp. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Repeat with remaining mixture.
6
Serve: Arrange on a platter. Serve hot with the warm ginger dipping sauce. Enjoy immediately — tempura crispiest when fresh!