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–+ servings

Sweet Potato Tempura (3 Japanese Ways to Make)

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 portions

Ingredients 
 

  • 75 ml cold water
  • 50 ml carbonated water
  • 15 g cornstarch
  • 75 g cake flour or all purpose + extra for dusting
  • ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise or half a small whisked egg
  • 2 ice cubes optional
  • cooking oil for frying
  • 600 g Japanese sweet potato (satsumaimo)

Instructions 

  • Measure out 75 ml cold water into a jug and place it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Place the sparkling water in the fridge too. (Preferably an unopened bottle, measure after chilling.)
    Still water in a jug and sparkling water in a sealed bottle
  • Sift 15 g cornstarch and 75 g cake flour into a bowl. Mix them together and place the bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
    sifted tempura ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • While your tempura batter ingredients are chilling, wash the surface of 600 g Japanese sweet potato (satsumaimo), cut off the ends, and slice according to your preferred method from the post above. (Thin rounds, thick rounds or sticks/wedges.) Make sure every piece has some skin left on. (If using thick rounds, cut a shallow cross pattern on the front and back of each piece.)
    cut sweet potato on a brown plate
  • Soak the cut pieces in cold water for 10 minutes.
    soaking cut sweet potato in a bowl of water
  • Once your batter ingredients have been chilling in the fridge for 30 minutes, start preheating your cooking oil to 160 °C (320 °F).
    heating oil in a pot to make tempura
  • In a bowl (or jug), add a few tbsp of the chilled water and ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise. Whisk until well combined to loosen up the mayo, then pour the rest of the chilled water and 50 ml carbonated water (chilled) into the bowl.
    chilled water in a bowl to make tempura
  • Add the flour/starch mixture to the water one-third at a time, gently drawing crosses through the mixture with the chopsticks to incorporate it. Do not whisk or over-mix, it's fine for the batter to have lumps.
    whisking dry ingredients into egg mixture with chopsticks to make tempura batter
  • Optional step: Add 2 ice cubes to the batter and mix to make it extra cold.
    tempura batter with ice cubes
  • Test your oil by adding a drop of batter; if it sizzles and floats, you're ready to fry.
    Dry the sweet potato pieces with kitchen paper and coat them with a thin layer of flour. Dip them in the batter and then immediately place them into the oil. Make sure not to overfill the pot.
    (Keep the batter in the fridge or freezer between batches.) For thin rounds or sticks, fry for 4-5 minutes, turning over halfway through. For thick slices, fry for 6-7 minutes or until you can easily pierce the center with a skewer.
    frying sweet potato tempura in oil
  • Once cooked, place on a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.
    sweet potato tempura on a wire rack
  • Serve and enjoy!

Notes

You can enjoy sweet potato tempura with tentsuyu dipping sauce or salt.
Sweet potato tempura can be eaten as a side or served on top of udon noodles, soba noodles or on top of rice (tendon/tempura donburi).
If you make the stick type, sweet potato tempura sushi rolls are also gaining popularity online and are a great sushi option for vegetarians!