Go Back
–+ servings

Avocado Tempura

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients 
 

Avocado

  • 2 avocados firmer side of ripe

Tempura Batter

  • 5 tbsp water
  • 3 tbsp carbonated water unflavored
  • 15 g cornstarch
  • 75 g unbleached cake flour or all-purpose flour (plain flour in UK/AU)
  • 1 egg yolk ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise also works
  • 2 ice cubes optional

Dusting

Frying Oil

To Finish

Instructions 

  • Chill the 5 tbsp water and 3 tbsp carbonated water in the fridge. Sift 15 g cornstarch and 75 g unbleached cake flour into a bowl and place in the freezer before you start the recipe (about 30 minutes).
    tempura batter ingredients no labels
  • Pour about 5cm (2 inches) cooking oil into a 24cm frying pot and heat to 180 °C (356 °F). Once the oil is almost ready, pour the chilled water and carbonated water into a mixing bowl, and add 1 egg yolk. Whisk until combined.
    whisking egg yolk and chilled water in a bowl to make tempura batter
  • Add the chilled flour and starch mixture in 3 additions, drawing crosses with chopsticks to combine them rather than mixing. Do not overmix, it is okay if the batter has lumps.
    egg, water and flour in a bowl, drawing crosses in the mixture with chopsticks to make tempura batter
  • Drop in 2 ice cubes to keep it cold.
    tempura batter in a bowl with ice cubes
  • Run a knife lengthwise all the way around 2 avocados and twist the halves apart. Remove the pits and cut each half lengthwise into 4 wedges, about 1.5cm thick.
  • Peel off the skin of each wedge and brush with unbleached cake flour all over.
  • Once the oil is ready, dip the dusted avocado wedges in the batter and place them in the oil. Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, I aim for 4-6 wedges per batch in a 24cm pot.
  • Once they float, turn them over. Fry about 1 minute on each side, 2 minutes in total, and lift them out at pale gold, when the bubbles turn fine and the sound gets lighter.
  • Transfer to a wire rack in a single layer to drain the excess oil and sprinkle with salt while they're hot.
  • Serve immediately and enjoy with salt or tentsuyu for dipping!

Notes

Do not judge ripeness by skin color: Press gently beside the stem end and use a fruit that gives just a little. Bacon and Fuerte stay green even when ripe. Leave a rock-hard one at room temperature until it softens.
1.5 cm is the line for a creamy middle: Heat reaches the center by the square of the thickness. At 2 cm nothing warms through in about 2 minutes, and anything thinner falls apart in the oil.
Never skip the dusting flour: A cut avocado face is slick with fat and batter slides off it. The flour pulls in the surface moisture and turns into a glue layer. Without it the batter peels away and the flesh collapses in the oil.
Pale gold is the ceiling: Salt is the only finish here, so there is nothing to hide the bitterness of an over-fried piece. Once the bubbles turn fine and the sound lightens, lift them out ahead of the clock.
Fry these last: A crisp batter holds for only a few minutes, and the warm fat in the flesh keeps feeding moisture into it. Finish everything else first, then heat the oil and serve each batch as it comes out.